Is It Revenge?
by LizzeXX
Summary: Loki/OC - Kona, Loki's beloved, has been banished from Asgard by Thor for a crime she didn't commit and had her memories taken away. When Loki arrives on Earth in search for her, will his heart be broken to find her in such a state? Or will another emotion fill him? What hand do the Chitauri have in their reunion? What happened to Loki to change him so? Second in the Seer's Edda.
1. The Dark and Empty Spaces

A/N: Hey y'all :) So, this is technically my first attempt at an Avenger's story, however this is the **second story** in my Loki/OC series, the Seer's Edda, which incorporates my OC, Kona, into it :) This is the second story as my first is listed under the 'Thor' category ;) For any who might be interested, I've also written some stories for Doctor Who, Supernatural, Sherlock, and Star Trek. This story will be based around the Avengers movie and will be intermingled with some original scenes and but should follow the movie, from Loki and the OCs POV more :) So we won't see much of the Avengers and what they're doing, but more focusing on Loki and his actions/interactions with my OC. I really would recommend new readers go through the 10-chapter story that came before this, Is It Madness?, to understand the events that have led to this story ;)

This story will be about 10 chapters long, updated daily. For a reference, I picture the OC, Kona, to look something like Hudson Leick :) There will be a bigger cover of this story on my tumblr (link on my profile) and I will eventually, one day do a video for Kona and Loki as well and post it there :)

I hope you enjoy :)

~8~ is a scene break

Disclaimer...I don't own the Avengers...or we'd have a Black Widow movie out already ;)

~8~

The Dark and Empty Spaces

In the dark recesses of space, a rocky landscape drifted past, a voice speaking in the darkness, "The Tesseract has awakened," it rasped, "It is on a little world, a human world. They would wield its power…"

A man stepped forward, out of the darkness and into the vague light that surrounded the landscape. He was tall, dressed in blacks and greens, with light eyes and long black hair. Loki, of Asgard. He stepped forward, before a shadowy figure as it held out a scepter-like object with a glowing blue gem on the end of it, a curved blade sticking out over the gem, pointed at the end, like a weapon. Loki looked down at it, feeling power course through him as he took the scepter in his hands…and smiled, this was it, this was the moment.

Now…_now_ he had the power, the resources, to go to Earth, the place he had been striving to get to for so long, the place he HAD to go. Ever since he had woken from his own banishment, from being betrayed by his so-called brother and oh-so loving father, he nearly spat at the words, he had been focused on nothing else. His life had been taken from him, his title, his friends, his family, his home…but there was something else, something SO much more dear to him that had been taken as well, something important, something he would stop at nothing till he got back. He turned his gaze back to the figure, the figure that had given him this opportunity, this method, this…_power_, the power to do what had to be done, the power to step across space, to Earth. Yes…Earth, it _had_ to be Earth. It was a small price to pay to do their bidding if they gave him such power and such chance.

"But our ally knows its workings as they never will," the voice continued, though he couldn't see the speaker in the darkness, "He is ready to lead. And our force..."

Small chatters sounded around Loki as he looked over, seeing a hoard of beings placing masks over their faces, aliens beings, as they prepared for battle. He smirked, an army, just waiting to be commanded.

"**...**our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his...the universe, yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn?!"

"And burn they shall," Loki nodded as he looked down at the scepter, his gaze pulled to the swirling blue glow of the gem. He reached out and touched it lightly, "You have my world," he looked back at the figure, "I shall not fail you."

He COULD not fail, he could not fail this. THIS was FAR too important for mistakes, for regrets, for hesitation. No, he was beyond that now, the Chitauri had shown him the way, had freed his heart of the ties that had bound him and tied him down, the ties that had made him so weak he hadn't been able to save…to save HER. And now…now he had the chance to redeem himself to her, to find her once more, to save her in a way he hadn't been able to. And he would, he would find her, he would protect her, and he would keep her at his side always, safe, protected from his brother and those who would harm her, the…humans, he sneered at the thought, that would try to use her.

A small voice in his head that sounded like her whispered at him in the dark thoughts that swirled in his mind, reminding him that he had not seen Earth since he had told his brother that their fath…Odin…had died. The voice reminded him he did not know how the humans may have treated her, but it didn't matter. Humans were weak, and primitive and violent, and SHE had been banished there, to live among them…to live AS one of them. And she did not deserve that fate, no…not her, she had been nothing but a wonder all her life and now she was being punished for trying to protect her home. No more. He would end the banishment, he would find her again, he…he HAD to find her, he needed her, more than anything in the world, he needed to be with her again.

"We give you this_ one _chance, Princeling," the voice rasped, "Use it wisely."

Loki looked at the shadowy figure, smirking as he gave it a nod, before holding up the scepter, encasing himself in a bright blue light before he struck it into the ground…

Earth, that was where he needed to go…

Because SHE was on Earth.

~8~

In the middle of a rather advanced room, on Earth, a tall, intimidating black man with an eye-patch on one eye, stood, staring at a machine that was set up on one side of the room, a glowing blue cube wedged in the middle of it. Scientists were rushing everywhere, trying to get objects out of the room, to get their equipment evacuated, while also trying to help an older man shut down the machine. A young man in black stood beside the black man, watching the cube as it began to pulsate, everyone discussing the cube and talking about how the energy levels were spiking, about how something was going wrong with it all.

"No one's come and gone," the young man was saying, "And Selvig's clean," he nodded at the old scientist, "No contacts, no IM. If there's any tampering, sir, it wasn't this end."

Selvig moved to a computer, checking the cube. The fear and concern on his face was evident to all of them as he glanced at the cube in worry.

"At this end, Agent Barton?" the black man asked, turning to the young man beside him.

"Yeah. The Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides."

As though hearing his words the cube itself started to spark.

"What's that?" Selvig looked over as it sparked again and again, the sparks getting larger each time it happened

…until a brilliant beam of blue energy shot out of it, across the room, growing in size as though to make a portal of some sort, energy rising above it as well, gathering on the ceiling of the base. There was an explosion that sent everyone ducking for cover, blinding them for a moment at the brilliant light that enveloped the room. When they looked up again…there was a small crater on the other side of the room, part of the floor destroyed from the blast…and there was a man with the scepter standing…no, kneeling…in the middle of the explosion.

Loki had come to Earth.

Guards moved closer to him, their guns raised, ready to attack, as Loki merely looked up, grinning menacingly at them all, dark, unnaturally dark, shadows under his eyes, eyes which looked nearly crazed as he turned them around the room but also…eyes that were full of pain and a manic quality that seemed so…out of place on his face, or out of place to anyone who had known him before.

He slowly stood as the others got up and looked at him in equal parts awe, horror, and shock, "Sir," the black man shouted, stiffening as he saw the scepter-like object in Loki's hand, saw the blade on the end of it, but also saw the glowing gem that seemed so much like the Tesseract as well, "Please put down the spear!"

Loki looked at the scepter in his hand, before tilting his head sharply to eye the man in the eye-patch who had dared command _him_, watching him for only a moment as though sizing him up…before he pulled the scepter back with a jerk, firing a blue beam of light at them. Barton shoved the black man away, avoiding the blast that blew up a machine behind them.

The guards immediately opened fire at Loki, rushing at him, trying to take him out, but the man was ready and fast, impossibly fast, and quite prepared, very skilled, clearly a man who had had a lifetime of training on combat. He leapt into the air, flying right for a guard, and knocking him down before he turned and threw two blades at two other guards that were racing for him, taking them down, firing energy from the scepter while also attacking with his bare hands, taking down guard after guard after guard, not stopping, not pausing, not even seeming to be considering what he was doing, just…attacking automatically.

Barton stood slowly, eyeing the man, noting how he was fighting, frowning at the way he was doing it. It didn't appear to be…in defense, it wasn't even like an attack really. It was more like…a man on a mission, working his way through the ones who stood in his way, not even caring if they were attacking him or not but just doing what he'd been tasked to do. He'd seen another person fight the same way, undistracted, taking out everything before them on their path to their target…but she was in Russia right now.

He waited for a chance, waited till the man was distracted, before he rushed at him with a gun…but Loki merely spun around, as though expecting the attack and grabbed Barton's arm so tightly that he winced and paused, unable to continue his attack.

Loki eyed him for only a moment, before smiling, "You have heart," he seemed to realize, a fact which he seemed quite…pleased about…as he reached out and pressed the tip of the curved blade of the scepter to Barton's chest. He watched closely as black veins raced up the man's neck, Barton's eyes turning black, before fading, the color seeming to be absorbed into his irises and turning them a glowing blue, the same color as the sphere in the scepter. He smiled wider at the man, letting go of his hand as Barton just…put his gun away and stood there, ready and waiting.

He let out a small, pleased, laugh at that. It was working, just as the Chitauri had promised. And this man…he could tell, he had been able to read it off him, he was a good man, a loyal man, one who would obey orders and do as commanded IF he thought the orders right for the cause. It was a man who would defend and protect those who needed it…and that was JUST what he needed. Because when he found her again, he wanted her protected, always, even while he was off doing what the Chitauri had asked of him, what he owned them to do. He wanted to know she would be safe, she would be cared for, and that no harm would come to her while he wasn't there.

He hadn't been there before, he hadn't thought to give her this sort of protection in the past, and she had paid dearly for it. He should have been there. He should have protected her. He shouldn't have ever let her go, but he had. And it was a mistake he paid for and agonized over every day of his life. But no more, because he would find her again. And when he did…this man would make a fine bodyguard for her, a protector. Yes…this man was just the sort to be able to do what was necessary to protect those under his care, which was JUST what he needed.

He nodded to himself, before he turned, doing the same to another agent as he stood, almost not noticing the black man remove the glowing cube, the Tesseract, the object the Chitauri seemed to want desperately, from a machine and place it in a case, trying to leave.

"Please don't," Loki called, turning to him, perfectly calm, perfectly at ease, as though he hadn't just attacked and incapacitated a room full of soldiers.

He did give a brief pause at that. He had never been the one that was a soldier, that was the one who attacked like that. That had always been Thor. But he had never had cause to attack like that before, and now he did. Because these men and women…they possessed the Tesseract, and that was something he needed, that was something he had to retrieve in order for the Chitauri plans to come to fruition, in order for him to be allowed to stay on Earth. These men and women…they were only standing in the way of him getting back to her, of being able to get to her.

And he would never let anyone stand in the way of them again.

"I still need that."

They had no idea how much he needed that. It was part of the bargain, part of the deal. He knew what it was, more so than these prattling mortals, and he needed it, the Tesseract, back. He had been sent to Earth, yes, but he could be pulled back at any moment if the Chitauri thought he was not fulfilling his part of the deal. He needed the Tesseract to stay, and he HAD to stay. He had his own mission to see to, his own quest, his own treasure to obtain.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," the black man stated, turning back to him but not letting go of the case.

"Of course it does," Loki remarked, "I've come too far for anything else. I've come too far for what I seek and I shall not let a human such as YOU," he sneered, "Stand in my way. I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

The MOST glorious purpose.

Love.

And that was his purpose now, to find it again, to restore it, to cherish it and protect it from all the evils of the Universe that he had seen on his quest to find it, to find HER, again.

Selvig pushed himself to his feet at that, staring at him, "Loki, brother of Thor?"

It was clear on Loki's face that the mention of his 'brother' was _not_ a welcomed one. If anything, he seemed near loathing of it, and why shouldn't he be? After everything Thor, his so-called brother, had done to him, had taken from him, why should he EVER think fondly of that name? Thor was a traitor, THOR was the betrayer of the family, he had proven it so through his actions on Asgard, "Do _not_ speak of him around me," he hissed at the man, his mind filling with images of the last time he had encountered the man, what he'd lost because of it, "He is NO brother of mine!"

"We have no quarrel with your people," the black man spoke, trying to be calm, negotiating…or perhaps trying to bide his time as the energy he could hear crackling above him, still gathering on the ceiling from the explosion, built.

Loki gave a scoffing smile, "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"You planning to step on us?" the man's eye narrowed.

But Loki shook his head, "I come with _glad _tidings, of a world made free."

"Free from what?"

"Freedom," he said, a…mad quality in his voice and eyes, as though…he truly believed that, but the way he said it, the words he used, were…off, somehow they were just off. For a single moment, the black man was reminded of propaganda, of someone being told something for so long that they began to believe it themselves, for a moment at least, before it was replaced when Loki continued, "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart…" he quickly turned to Selvig, placing the tip of the scepter to his chest as well, taking control of him too. It wasn't even that the man, controlling him, would harm Thor (as clearly the man had known his 'brother' before) but because he knew the man was working on the Tesseract, trying to create a doorway, and that he would be useful later, "You will know _peace_."

"Yeah…" the black man eyed him warily, wondering just how much 'freedom' HE had given up to come to that revelation, not much if HE was the one who wanted to control everyone else, "You say peace. I kinda think you mean the other thing."

"Sir," Barton walked over to Loki from where he'd been standing, looking up at the cloud that had formed above the explosion site, the energy STILL gathering, "Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

"Like the pharaohs of old," Fury didn't even bother to try to lie.

"He's right!" Selvig called, checking the readings of the machine, "The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."

Loki nodded, not at all worried, "Well then," he gestured to Barton, who pulled out a gun and shot Fury in a single instant, giving the man no time to try to move.

Fury dropped to the ground in pain, releasing the case as Barton merely walked past, picking it up as he, Selvig, and the other agent followed Loki out and into what looked like a small room where the vehicles were stored.

"We need this vehicle," Barton man pointed at a pickup, speaking to a young woman, another agent, as they passed.

The woman frowned, spotting Loki, "Who's that?"

"Didn't tell me," was all Barton said as he headed for the pickup truck, Loki merely walked past her, not bothering to try and convert her as well, before he crouched down in the back of the truck, one hand grabbing onto the side as the other held the scepter tightly. Selvig moved to sit in the passenger's seat, clutching the case with the Tesseract to his chest.

"Hill!" Fury shouted over a radio in the woman's hand as she began walking away, "Do you copy? Barton...has turned."

The woman turned, her gun out and ready to try and stop them…only to see that Agent Barton himself had already pulled his own gun and was firing at her. She ducked back, rolling behind a wall, peeking out to see Barton jump in the driver's seat and speed away, Loki still on the back, a hard expression on his face.

"Get the Tesseract!" Fury shouted at her, "Shut them down!"

And the woman ran to a car, speeding after them, trying to catch up, her eyes on Loki the whole time as he was the one with a clear weapon…which was proved true when he fired blasts at the other cars that had joined her in trying to stop the hostiles from escaping. She tried to get close, tried to stop them, even fired at Agent Barton…but the man was too skilled and the base was too fractured from the Tesseract's reaction, it was starting to crumble around her.

And before she knew it, it was too late. The last thing she saw was Loki's smirking face as they drove out into the open, the ceiling collapsing on her just as she reached the exit, trapping her.

The pickup truck escaped more than just the collapse of the base, but Fury in a helicopter as well, it speeding off into the night, as the chopper raced after it. Loki looked up, watching as Fury appeared, leaning out of it with a gun aimed at him. He merely lifted the scepter and released a blast…right at the chopper…

~8~

Kona gasped awake as the dream played out in her mind, wincing and rubbing her head as she felt it starting to fade, like it always did. She hated when it did that, when her dreams faded, they were…comforting, most of the time, they were the one of the few comforts she had left, and yet they always disappeared so suddenly, just…fading, barely letting her grasp it before it fell through her fingers. She didn't understand how it was possible though, for her to dream of people, to actually see them and imagine their faces and…colors…if she had never been able to see anyone.

She was blind, had been her whole life or very nearly apparently.

Her first memory was waking up in a hospital, scared, alone, but then a lovely nurse had tried to help her, tried to help her make sense of what was happening and understand what was going on. It appeared that she had…tried to kill herself, or so the doctors claimed. But…she couldn't help but feel like that was wrong. Even now, even a year later, she still couldn't shake the feeling that that was NOT what had happened to her. She sighed though, the terrible truth was though…that she _didn't_ know what exactly that was. She didn't remember landing in an alley before some children, she didn't remember falling, she didn't remember jumping or anything that came before waking up in that room in the dark. She had to admit though…she didn't know what else it could be.

Ever since she'd woken up, she'd tried to 'get on her feet' so to speak. She had no idea who she was, where she was from, what she had done in her life before she had 'jumped.' The nurses had been very kind to her though and, once a psychiatric evaluation had been done on her and determined she was not dangerous to herself or society, she'd been released. But she'd had nowhere to go. She'd ended up in a shelter, or that's what she thought it was called, before she'd found herself wandering back to the hospital again. The nurses had helped even more, had told her of a position at the hospital that she'd be able to do, basically just tending to patients, helping them walk to and from certain rooms and appointments, changing their bed sheets when they were out of the room, small things that anyone could do with their eyes closed…which she was unfortunately bound to do the rest of her life.

It was odd though, because…her first thought when the nurses had offered her the position was that…the humans had been very kind to her. She didn't understand why she'd thought of them as that, as…humans when SHE was one as well. But she shrugged it off and had fallen into a sort of routine. With her 'job' she'd been able to get a very small, very cheap apartment in New York. She didn't get paid much but it was enough to keep her apartment, as small and as dirty and grimy and in disrepair as it was with its lack of hot water and heating that didn't quite work right. And it was enough to buy groceries every week, it wasn't like she ate much with just her. At the moment, it was all she could hope for because she didn't know if she had any family, if she had any friends, what could have happened in her life that had driven her to do what the nurses thought she had done.

But there was always one thing that calmed her down and comforted her when she felt overwhelmed by the realization that her entire life was blank before a year ago. It was her dreams. It was the man in her dreams, with his tall frame and black hair, his pale skin and light eyes, and his…his warm smile and brightening laugh and…strong arms. She dreamed of him so many times but she couldn't recall ever having met him. She didn't understand why she dreamed of this man when she didn't even know his name. She was sure it was said quite often in the dreams, but…she just couldn't seem to hold onto it when she woke up. She didn't even really remember much of the dreams either, but…she got bits and pieces of it. She remembered what he looked like in her mind, she remembered…warmth, a…palace, gowns and ceremonies and books and…a throne.

She let out a little gasp when something small and warm and furry jumped onto her lap before she smiled, reaching out to stroke the ears of the kitten that had settled on her legs. The kitten had been there, in the apartment, when she first rented it. She hadn't had the heart to turn the little thing away and had sort of adopted it, keeping it as it was the kitten's home first that she was moving into. And…she was glad she had decided to keep it. It didn't eat much so she always made sure to get milk and small bits of cat food for him every week…she actually didn't know if it was a boy or a girl as she hadn't been able to take it to the vet. She…couldn't afford it at the moment, could barely make her rent and buy her food, but the kitten was small and…it kept her company. It seemed to be healthy enough. It made her feel less alone, to have the kitten there, she just…she felt like she hadn't ever really been alone before and now she was…she felt like New York, despite being found there and living there…wasn't her home, that she was lost and afraid and by herself but…at least she had the kitten.

Which was now meowing up at her, making her laugh, "It was just the dream again," she told him, petting him absently, "But…it was different this time," she shook her head, trying to think of a way to explain it…not that the kitten would understand either way, but…SHE was confused as well.

The dreams had always been different, in different places with different events and different people at times…but they _always_ featured the man. Every night she dreamed of him. But every night it was in some sort of palace or a meadow or a library, with him dressed in such regal clothes she would've almost thought him a king if not for the sour feeling that came with it, like the man himself didn't like the thought of being king. She always felt…safe and warm and…and loved…when she dreamed of him. Sometimes she felt like she could even remember the sound of his voice, never what he said to her, but she felt…happy when he spoke to her in the dreams.

The kitten meowed again, pulling her from her thoughts, as though he were waiting for her to explain what was different about it.

She stroked his ears, last night, that last dream was…not the same as the others. THIS time…the man had been there, but…in a facility of some sort, like a research lab or something. And she knew that he wouldn't stay there, that he was going somewhere else, "He was in New York," she murmured, "Or…he's coming to New York. He…he appeared in a flash of light and people were…" she frowned, she couldn't really remember what was happening.

It had made her feel like he was confused and disoriented, like he was searching for something he wanted, something he was looking desperately for, and that people were getting in the way.

She let out a sad laugh, "Maybe he's come for me?" she sighed, feeling…sad and happy about that at the same time.

It could be true, maybe…maybe he WAS coming for her, but the thought that the man had come through time and through space and through the stars and from his tall palace just for her? That he'd gone all that way just to come and find her and bring her home (wherever home was)? She felt like it was an impossible dream.

She wasn't anything special, just…a poor, blind girl with amnesia.

She was hopeful that was what it was though, that maybe her dream might come true. She hoped he was there for her, that he'd come to find her, because it _was_ the same man from her dreams and…she just…she felt like she wanted something back. Whenever she woke up she felt like that, like she wanted something desperately but she could never remember what it was. She felt so alone that she wanted it (whatever IT was) back, she wanted _him_ back, she wanted him to come back and yet…she always awoke without him, in her bed, alone, it broke her heart to realize she was still there, in New York, with no one, to realize that they were just…dreams. That he was just a man in her dreams.

Still though…maybe it might come true one day, because the man in the dream just then…he wasn't in his palace, he was in New York, he was coming to New York. Maybe it was a sign that she would find him again because SHE was in New York too.

She hoped so.

Because…whoever he was…she missed him terribly.

She sighed as the kitten began to fuss, "Alright, alright," she got up, the kitten in her arms, "Let's get you some breakfast Loki."

A/N: Awww, she named her kitten Loki :') I know there wasn't much Loki/Kona here, but I wanted to sort of set the stage, I can say they'll be 'finding' each other very, VERY soon ;) And I can say, Loki is...VERY different than where we left off with him, but I'm slowly going to be explaining it and why he is the way he is throughout the story ;)

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! ^-^

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of Is It Madness?)...

It's not exactly the magic that allowed Thor to banish Kona, I mentioned earlier in IIM, when Loki was thinking of Thor's banishment, that it was within the king's power to strip the memories and banish someone, so it's not really Thor having magic but more the 'magic of Gungnir'/the power of the King that allowed him to do it :) I interpret the Warriors Three/Sif/Heimdall not being punished as, by that point, they believed Loki had betrayed Asgard and that the only one who could stop him and take the power away from him (as the true heir even banished) was Thor. In a way, they were all (including Loki and Kona) trying to protect Asgard in different ways, some just came across one way and others another :)

There might just be a bit of redemption for Thor with Kona, one day }:)

Kona still has her sight, but she has no idea what it is. Mostly she thinks it's memories/dreams, and it is likely that, but dreams can be...prophetic in a way ;)

I can say Kona will have no interaction with the Avengers before the events of this story ;)

Yup, in IIM, Loki is just very misunderstood :)

Lol, I don't think anyone could be against Loki ever :) I can say that Sif will, at one point, get slapped by someone ;) As for making amends...I can say forgiveness won't come easy in terms of Thor :)

Thor might one day apologize ;) We sort of have an idea of how Loki found her (he knew she was on Earth) but we'll find out exactly how he'll track her to New York soon :) I think Thor's dislike of Kona is more a progression of him trying to make it up to her and miscommunication making him just resent her for so long that it built up after all those years :(


	2. A Missing Heart

A Missing Heart

Loki stood before a small base, watching as the sun rose on Earth, the scepter in his hand, ignoring what was going on behind him. He had assigned Selvig to begin preparations to work on the Tesseract, had sent Agent Barton to find more people to help, needing to get things done and get them done quickly, much more quickly now that his arrival on Earth had been a bit more public than he'd hoped. He had desired to appear in an abandoned location, to be able to infiltrate that facility subtly, taking control of who he needed to get the Tesseract out swiftly but undetected. It would have allowed him more time, a more…leisurely pace to complete the Chitauri's plans.

Now though…with Director Fury aware of him, with the man knowing full well that he had control of two of the men that would be needed to ensure his plans were carried out…he knew it was only a matter of time before the man took it upon himself to 'stop' him…or try to. He would NOT let the man succeed, of that he was certain. But it did pose a very real and very large hindrance in his own plans. Had he been able to infiltrate more surreptitiously, the Tesseract would have longer to be worked on, he would be able to convince the Chitauri that he was completely on top of everything, that their plans were safe and that everything was going accordingly.

But with Fury after him, everything had to be rushed, which meant…he had less time to find Kona and to…try and help her, try and…and restore her memories. He knew that, as he was not King, he wouldn't be able to reverse Thor's command and punishment. Thor, while wielding Gungnir, the staff recognizing him as the true king upon his return to Asgard, had stripped her memories from her, something fully within his power as king to do. Well, Gungnir had done it really, Thor wasn't quite…skilled at magic, nowhere near as adept as HE was at it. But that didn't matter, the point was that…Kona was out there, alone and with an empty head and…he had hoped to find her, to gain her trust again, playing the part of a human, trying to gauge what she did remember, what might have slipped through the king's command. He had hoped he might have time to subtly try and nudge her memories to the surface. He didn't know if it would be possible, he had never heard of anyone that a prior king had banished remembering their lives once their memories had been stripped without the king himself reversing it.

But…none before Kona had ever been a seer. She saw things that others didn't, she saw the future, she had dreams of them, there was, he hoped, a chance that perhaps her sight might allow her to see the truth, so to speak, might allow her to at least recover enough of a sense of who HE was to…to love him again, to leave with him, to trust him.

He closed his eyes, THAT was what he feared most dearly, that he would find her and she would…she'd be frightened of him. He had no idea what she might think of her life from before she awoke on Earth. He had no idea if she might have remembered anything, even a snippet, of what had happened before she'd been banished. He was…utterly terrified that her mind, to fill the gaps, might have made him out to be the monster everyone else saw him as. If Kona ever lost faith in him…

He shook his head, he couldn't think like that, not now, not when he was…vulnerable. Kona had always been a source of strength to him, but also…his greatest weakness, a weakness he would never give up for anything, not even for more strength. Her love, her faith, her trust in him, the hope that he might find her again and earn all that back…THAT was what kept him going. And THAT was what had helped him endure the agony of separation, the solitude of banishment, and the…pain…that the blackness of space afforded him. The pain…was crippling, maddeningly so at times, but he always had her to escape to in his mind, to barricade himself from it, imagining her there with him, him in her arms, being held by her and holding her in return.

He…couldn't remember much of the actual pain really, he knew he'd felt it, he knew it had been agonizing, but he also knew it had been so powerful that he had blocked it out. He had to have, just…made a wall and kept all the memories of that pain behind it. He didn't' like to think of that, to the pain that lurked in the darkness, the whispered voices that laughed as he had screamed himself into oblivion…

He winced, shaking his head again and…started to smile when he felt warmth on his face. The sun was rising on him, warming him with its light. Kona had once said that she would sit in the light of the rising sun and close her eyes, waiting to feel its rays on her, imagining that she was there with him, when they'd been children, when she'd still been able to see, before she'd open her eyes and realize she was still blind. His own eyes fluttered open as he squinted out into the building light.

He looked down at the scepter in his hand and held it out before him with one hand. He stared at the glowing blue gem intently, "Find her," he commanded it, "Find my heart," he stated, before he reached out with his other hand and grasped the blue gem, his eyes falling closed as a vision of sorts filled his mind. It was as though he were racing across the planet so fast that everything was a blur, till he reached the city, New York signs said, racing down street after street…till it reached a building, heading up it to an apartment…where he could see her!

His eyes snapped open as he panted, he was…tired, he was so tired, and weary and worn, and not just from the battle and escape he'd just endured, not from the travel across the Universe, but just…physically. But he HAD to see her, he had to get to her!

He grabbed the scepter in both hands and closed his eyes again, the blue glow of the gem brightening till it encompassed him…and he disappeared in a flash of light…

~8~

Loki stood off to the side, partially hidden in an alley, in the shadows, standing under a darkened street light, dressed in more 'modern' clothes similar to what he'd worn to visit Thor ones, nearly a black suit with green accents and a green scarf, his hair down, the scepter now looking more like a walking cane than anything. He glanced up at the broken street light, it wasn't really needed, all the darkness, given who the person he was watching from afar was. He stared out, across the street, watching his Kona walked up it, two bags of groceries in her arms, seeming to be struggling with a third wedged between them. He swallowed hard, his hand curling into a fist as he watched her, wanting so desperately to go over and help but…for the first time his wits and his 'silver tongue' failed him and he froze.

What did one say to the woman they loved when said woman had no idea who they were?

It made him so sad to see her like that, trying to hold a sort of red and white cane in her hand on top of it all, using that to guide her. He knew, on Earth, it was meant to help those who couldn't see, and also to make others aware of them as well. But he didn't like it, he didn't like a thing about it, not how the stick made her stand out, made the humans see her as someone who needed to be watched out for. And he didn't like how it made her appear that she needed help to get things done. In Asgard she had been so familiar with the palace, with the rooms, having had him there beside her, guiding her, helping her get used to the steps from one place to another for years on end…she hadn't needed any sort of help like that. Kona was one of the strongest women he knew, one of the most capable, and she had always hated when people saw her as being defined by her blindness, as though that were all there was to her. To see her with that stick…it just reminded him of how truly out of place she was on Earth, how it…it wasn't home, how she'd been banished from it.

Because of him.

He watched her struggling with her bags, knowing that this was NOT like the Kona he remembered, the Kona he knew, and that worried him so terribly. What else was different? How much of her personality had changed with her memories missing. His moth…Frigga…had always told him that a person's life was like a ball of clay, all their experiences and memories shaped the clay into who they were.

What was Kona now that all that had been wiped clean?

He truly…hated Thor for that, for what he'd done to her. He would give anything to take Kona's place, to have had HIS memories taken though…he was fairly certain that it was just his own sorrow at knowing they were now separated by more than just distance. She had no idea who he was, and it killed him to know that. He almost wished he could forget her, so that it wouldn't hurt so much, but…he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to ever forget her, not Kona, not his heart. What was worse was that…he almost had to _thank _Thor for what he'd done to him, if events had played out differently, if he'd been taken to the prisons and thrown in the dungeons like he knew Thor would have originally pushed for…he'd have been trapped, completely trapped within Asgard while Kona suffered and struggled on Earth, with no way to escape and no way to get to her. In a way…what Thor had done to him had allowed him to find Kona again.

Only now he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to face her, to face this new her, to stand before her and talk to her and have her so…distant and blank and…he didn't know. He was just…scared.

He glanced up and down the street, which was rather empty, before he stepped out of the shadows, trailing quietly behind her, just…wanting to make sure she would make it home to her apartment safely. He had found out where she was earlier, the scepter had shown him, and had gone to see her…but had backed out at the last moment. He'd been unable to bring himself to leave though, had spent the entire day just…watching over her, seeing what had become of her life on Earth, and he didn't like what he saw at all.

Kona was struggling to make do, struggling to adapt. Everyone treated her as though she were a fragile doll they didn't think capable of doing anything for herself, and the place she lived? It was not fit for even the worst prisoners of Asgard and he had seen the prison cells they resided in himself. They were quite comfortable compared to the apartment she was living in. And what was that…thing…that scampered around her room all day? He just shook his head, needing to focus on following her, this was _not_ a good part of town despite being so near a hospital. He didn't want her to get harmed or hurt or have anyone try to take advantage of her while she was trying to make it to her apartment.

He stopped just under street light when he saw her slow and stop before him, watching as she stiffened and turned her head back as though she were about to look over her shoulder at him but not quite doing so.

"Who's there?" she called.

He had to smile at that, that, even now, even without her memories, even without her sight, she could _still_ tell when he was sneaking up on her. It…gave him hope that, maybe, just maybe there was more of HIS Kona in there, just beneath the surface. He could already see it in the way she held herself when she thought someone was there, the…poise and quiet authority in her posture as she straightened, the tone of her voice calm yet demanding.

"I know you're there," she added, turning completely around this time, shifting quickly to keep that third bag in place, "I may not be able to see you but I can still _hear_ you. So who's there?"

His smile faded though when he heard a trace of…fear in voice. That was _not_ his intention at all, he never ever wanted her to be afraid of him. He had just been trying to protect her but he could see how that might have come across now. He took a breath and stepped closer to her, "I…I'm sorry," he said, actually stuttering just a little as he always did whenever he was in front of her after a long time away.

It had happened one time, when he had gone with Thor upon Odin's request to one of the distant edges of Asgard where a civil war nearly seemed about to happen. He had gone mostly just to be there as an advisor, offering sound advice and military strategy where his brother was more for the strength and power. It had been months away from Kona and, when he saw her again, it was like he hadn't seen her for _years_ instead. He had been so nervous around her and stuttering because that had been just before he had asked Odin if he could court her. He had been away for so long and, during all that time, all he could think about was Kona, getting back to her and making sure that this war was avoided quickly and peacefully so that he could 'boast' about it to her…actually so that he could just tell her, tell her that he had had a hand in maintain the peace.

He loved it when she was proud of him.

Those three months had been the worst of his life up until this point, he had thought of her constantly, had missed her terribly, had dreamed of her so often that even Thor could tell there was something bothering him. And when he'd returned and seen Kona standing there, speaking to his mother, he hadn't even stopped, hadn't even thought, as he just run to her and pulled her into his arms and just…held her. He had glimpsed his mother smiling at him, but he'd been too focused on Kona to really notice. That had been all the clues his father needed to realize his true affections for her, the true depth of his feelings for her.

He never thought anything could be worse than those few months away from her, until he'd been separated from her for a year. It was especially worse not knowing what was going on with her, to know she wasn't in the palace, that she wasn't safe, that she wasn't being protected and that she didn't have her memories. He had known all that time that she'd been lost and alone on Earth, that she was probably struggling to survive worse than Thor had. Thor at least still held his memories, had his training, had his sight. Kona was without almost everything and that worried him deeply. He'd had nightmares of all the things that could have happened to her without him there to protect her.

"Who are you?" she asked, cutting off his remembrance and breaking his heart in the process.

Kona had _always_ known the sound of his voice, always. Even as he grew, even when his voice changed, even when it was in the process of changing, she _always_ knew it was him. It just killed him inside to see her standing there, this look of confusion on her face, like she couldn't recognize his voice. His voice was all she really had when she'd lost her sight, his voice and his touch, and now…she couldn't remember that. Now…she had none of that.

"I…I'm sorry," he repeated, "I…I…I saw you struggling and I…I wanted to ask if you wanted help. But I didn't…I wasn't sure how to…"

"Oh," she blinked a bit, nodding, "Why didn't you just ask?" she wondered, "It's not like you could comment on my blindness as though it's new to me," she remarked.

He nodded slowly though he knew she couldn't see it and stepped closer, "May I?" he asked, his hands hovering by her own, waiting for her to give a sign that it was ok to take the bag.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning forward a bit for him to take the one bag, but he did her one better and took a second (what looked like the heavier bag) as well, "Thank you very much it seems."

He let out a small chuckle, he could…see a bit of HIS Kona in that, making light of a situation, commenting on her blindness as though it were no big thing. It reminded him of how she had been when she'd started to get used to her blindness as a child, how she would make light of it to try and help HIM get over it as well. She was still doing it even now and it gave him hope to see if more of her old self would peek through.

"I hope I didn't…um…" he wasn't sure the word.

"Creep me out by stalking me up the street?" she asked.

The small smile that had been making its way onto his face from her remarks on her blindness started to fade, _that_…didn't sound like Kona, the words she used, it wasn't like her, "Yes," he muttered.

"You didn't," she reassured him, before turning, "My apartment is just over here…"

Loki followed her gaze a moment before he moved to walk with her, "Aren't you concerned?" he asked, "That I might be dangerous? A strange man, in the middle of the night, stalking you, as you said, down a street?"

"And then politely offering to carry my bags for me?" she countered, as though that point alone made her case.

"It could be a ploy to gain access to your home."

"For what purpose?" she shrugged, "I clearly have nothing worth stealing and anything you could have taken from me you could have easily done in the empty street as opposed to my crowded apartment building. No," she shook her head, "If you had wanted to harm me, you would have done it before."

He looked at her, "Perceptive as ever," he murmured under his breath.

She smiled, "Thank you. But...it's not just that."

"What else is there?" he shook his head.

"Your voice," she remarked quietly, "You...sound genuine," she nodded, "I can tell...you won't hurt me."

He let out a small breath at that, "Never," he promised, even though he knew that she had no idea how true that was. A smile grew on his face at that, she'd heard him, both his murmuring and the meaning in his words. Well at least he knew her senses were as sharp as ever and...she seemed to trust him. And that...was nearly enough to have him sagging in relief to hear. He knew it was probably confusing for her, if she even realized what she had implied in her words, to seem to...trust him...so quickly. But it made his heart soar to hear.

She trusted him.

For some reason she still trusted him, even with no memories, a part of her believed in him and trusted him. He knew it was just because it was HIM. He'd seen it in her interactions with others throughout the day, she had been wary and distant with quite a few people, yet with him...she was smiling and allowing him closer, allowing him to know where she lived. He couldn't begin to describe how thankful he was that she still did trust him, even if she didn't know why.

He moved quickly ahead of her as she climbed the steps of her building to open the door for her.

"You're…quite the gentleman, aren't you?" she asked him.

"I…try to be," he supplied, following her further in, to an elevator.

"You succeed," she informed him, "Though I feel like you succeed in a lot of things when you set your mind to it. I bet you were quite the mischievous child."

He stopped short in following her out of the elevator when it reached her floor, "What…what makes you say that?" he inquired as he moved after her, following her down the hall. All he could think was his mind going right to Kona calling him 'Mischief Maker,' her own little sweet name for him, much like he called her 'my heart.'

"I don't know?" she shrugged, "I just think the most polite adults were the most troublesome children."

"Sounds like me," he had to agree, he was often thought of, on Earth, as the 'god of mischief' and it certainly held true. As a child he was always pulling tricks on Thor and the guards and even his parents at times. But not her. He just…never felt the need or desire to want to irritate her like that. It just…wasn't in him to do that. He liked seeing her happy and smiling and laughing, not irritated and angry and upset.

He watched as she made her way to a door, reaching up to feel the metal numbers nailed to the front of it, as though checking to make sure it was her apartment, before sliding the key into the lock and opening the door. She stepped in, holding the door wider to let him in with her two bags. He walked over to a small, rather dingy-looking, kitchen and placed the groceries down for her.

"I…um…" he swallowed hard, looking at her as she walked past him, her arm brushing his in the process, making his eyes fall closed and his breath to catch in his throat.

This was…exactly what he had been hoping when he saw her again, that the…spark would still be there, that the way he felt whenever he was with her would still be there. He was of the belief that a feeling like THAT had to be felt by both sides, Kona had often told him enough in Asgard. It had been a feeling he'd been longing for, that he'd been craving, the…the feel of being around her. He hadn't felt…that sort of touch, gentle, soft, warm, in…a year it seemed. It was almost foreign yet SO familiar to him, and he craved more but…now was not a good time to try and get to know her like that, to try and touch her.

This was a mistake, to come see her so soon after reaching Earth, to know that his time with her was being rushed. He didn't want to rush this, he didn't want to rush her, but he'd just…wanted to see her. And things had gotten a bit out of hand, he had never had the best restraint when it came to her. Whenever he saw her he wanted to touch her, whenever he touched her he wanted to kiss her, whenever he kissed her…he needed to leave, being around her but not being around HER was starting to get to him. He just felt like…there was so much of the old her in her, but to see the biggest chunks still missing...to have someone who acted so much like HIS Kona, who looked like her and almost sounded like her but...to not BE her...it hurt too much to have her standing there and not know who he was to her, to not know who he was at all.

The fact that the only thing she seemed to remember of him was he was mischievous didn't give him a lot of hope.

"I…I should go," he finished.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" she offered politely, if a bit quickly, "You um…you don't HAVE to go."

She didn't understand why she'd offered that, offered to let the man whose name she didn't even know stay longer instead of insisting his part was over and that he leave. She'd just…said it. But…hearing him say that he was leaving, she had no idea, she didn't understand it, but…a part of her panicked at the thought of it. A part of her wanted to grab his hand and ask him to stay. She actually felt her heart stop for a split second when he mentioned leaving and she knew it wasn't normal, she was well aware, but…she just…couldn't let him go.

There was something familiar about him, about his voice, it was…soothing and it…it made her _happy_. Hearing him speaking just before when he'd stuttered over his words…she'd felt completely…safe. It was just like he said, a strange man had stalked her down the street in the middle of the night and yet…she felt safe and at ease, it was like she knew he would NEVER hurt her. But how? She'd never met him before, or she didn't think she had.

"You wouldn't mind a 'strange man' staying longer in your home?" he wondered, a bit…curious (and trying NOT to be hopeful) as to why she seemed to not want him to go.

"You wouldn't be strange if you introduced yourself," she pointed out, "I'm Kona," she offered.

"Kona," he repeated, SO pleased to know she remembered her name at least, that had to be a sign, "That's…quite the unique name."

She nodded, her smile turning sad, "It's…it's all I can remember," she told him, "I've…things happened and I've no memory of anything before a year ago," she shrugged, "I woke up in a hospital and…that was the only thing I could remember, my first name."

…and she had no idea why she was telling him all this. It wasn't like he needed to know it, but she just…couldn't help it. It was like…telling him things just came so easily.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, looking at her. She may have sounded nonchalant about it, but he had always been able to see things in her face, and she was more upset by that, by the lack of what she knew, than she let on, "I am Lo…"

"Loki!" Kona cut in quickly with a gasp, "Oh…" she winced, "I'm sorry, that was rude," she knelt down and picked up the ball of fur that had just brushed past her, startling her into shouting that, "Someone was just…um, eager to say hello."

Loki stared at the kitten in her hand, his eyes wide. The kitten…was black, like his own hair, with light eyes that were actually quite close to his own. And…she'd named it…she'd…

"Loki?" he asked, his voice sounding more like a whisper than anything.

"Yes," she smiled, petting the small bundle of fur.

"After the god of mischief?"

"Well…" she seemed to flounder a moment that he knew that, "I…he's very mischievous," she defended.

Loki eyed the kitten as it purred contentedly in her arms, just…dozing off, "Yes…he…seems it."

Kona sighed, "He's nothing like that at all," she admitted, "I…don't know why I named him that. I just…sort of adopted him and…he's been here a year," she shrugged, "He's been with me since I moved in and…it was nice, to have someone there with you, by your side, protecting you, even if it was a kitten."

"And…and 'Loki' was a fitting name for someone like that?" he swallowed, afraid and excited for the answer, the fact that she'd named her kitten after him…it had to mean something even more than remembering her own name that she'd named the being that was always there for her and comforting her after HIM.

"I suppose so," she murmured, "Yes."

He felt himself smile, felt…a peace settle over him that was unlike anything he'd felt the last year or so. It was….similar to the peace he felt when the pain he vaguely remembered struck him, but ten times as strong now. She…she remembered him, somewhere in her mind she remembered him! She had to have! And now that he knew that…

He knew there was a hope of getting her back.

A/N: Hmm...Loki seems...quite different around Kona here than he did at the start of the story, I can say there's a reason for that that we'll see in the next chapter }:) I know there wasn't much Loki/Kona here either, for this chapter I wanted to show the bits of Kona that were still lingering around in her choice of words and how she reacted to Loki. I can say there'll be a bit of Loki/Kona fluff tomorrow ;)

I'm glad you're all enjoying the start of the story though ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, nope, I think Loki's more touched that the kitten was named after him ;) That's...IF Kona gets her memory back }:) I can't say if Thor will lift the banishment or not, we'll have to wait and see. But as for Loki, she definitely 'recognizes' him even if she doesn't know how ;)


	3. The Spark

The Spark

Loki was crouched down in the base he'd taken over, half-sitting on the floor as he watched various men and women rush about, trying to help Selvig as he worked on the Tesseract inside a smaller room sealed off by plastic walls. There weren't many people and he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or disappointed with that. It was a…fine line he walked in terms of preparing the Tesseract. More people meant more work was done and done faster, which meant the Chitauri's plans would come to fruition all the sooner.

It also meant less time on Earth with Kona before battle.

However, fewer people meant less time spent working on the Tesseract, it meant more time to be with Kona as the others prepared the cube for the plans that lie ahead.

And that meant tension for the Chitauri in regards to whether he was fulfilling his end of the deal and also gave Fury more of a chance to find them and halt their plans indefinitely.

He looked down at the scepter in his hand, as the gem glowed even more brightly, hearing whisper in his mind as he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he was transported, mentally, across space, to another world, pulled into a vision, a message from the Chitauri.

He opened his eyes to find himself on the planet that he'd been on before he'd arrived on Earth, no, not a planet, more like a wasteland of an asteroid. And he'd thought Jotunheim had been a disaster. This was…a wreckage, this was a civilization at the brink of their own destruction.

He looked up, hearing the shadows around him whispering, knowing the Chitauri were surrounding him. His gaze drifted around, him standing there as calm and as regal as ever as he faced ahead, seeing one Chitauri closer than the others, barely visible, but there, enough for him to make out.

"The Chitauri grow restless," a voice whispered in the darkness, the figure before him.

"Let them goad themselves," he countered, "I will lead them in a glorious battle," he straightened, promise in his voice.

"Battle?" the voice scoffed, "Against the meager might of Earth?"

"Glorious," he smirked, "Not lengthy," before he tilted his head, almost…mockingly, "If your force is as formidable as you claim."

"You question us?!" the figure hissed, "You question him? He who owns the scepter in your hand, who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose? When you were cast out, defeated!"

Loki's jaw tensed at that, flashes going off in his mind at the words that were being hissed at him.

He saw a bridge, he saw Thor holding Gungnir, he saw Kona falling into the Bifrost, Frost Giants attacking, Mjolnir, Odin, flashes of light, and him…falling away, falling to darkness.

He shook his head, feeling the images fading, feeling the emotion of those moments rising in him, the anger, the loathing, the hatred that he felt for Asgard, no…for _Thor_, "I was a king!" he shouted, "The rightful king of Asgard, betrayed."

He winced, feeling that small voice in his head that reminded him of Kona shouting against that, railing that it wasn't true, that that was NOT who he had been. That that was NOT what he had WANTED to be. So why was he claiming so? Why did he feel such…anger at having been denied a throne he hadn't wanted in the first place? Why…

He looked up when he heard the Chitauri leader truly hissing at him and his mind drifted, he knew why, he remembered now. Because Thor would have destroyed Asgard, no matter what, no matter how he changed, he knew his brother was NOT the right king for their people. The burden of the throne, the responsibility, should have fallen to HIM.

Thor had proven he would _never_ change. He had returned to Asgard and, without even hearing the other side of the story, without giving those accused of terrible crimes the chance to defend themselves and explain themselves, he had cast them out. Thor had proven himself incapable of being a wise and just and fair king in that instant. It had been a…wakeup call of sorts, to realize all the hope he'd had for his brother, and he had had the greatest of it, were for naught.

Thor's rash actions had led to this, had led to his startling realization that Thor should never be given the throne of Asgard. The Chitauri had helped him to see that it was HIM who was meant to be king. HE was the one who thought things out, who planned, who considered consequences, and who _listened _to people around him. HE was the one who heeded the advice of others, who could admit his faults, who had the highest concern for his people. HE was the one whose every action had been for the sake and safety of his people.

Not Thor.

It had never been Thor and it would never be Thor. It should never be him. He was sure that, if Kona still retained her sight, she would have seen that Thor's future would be unchanged, that he would never be the king that Asgard deserved. The Chitauri had shown him that the only one suited to rule Asgard…was HIM.

But he refused to do it, he refused to take up that position without Kona. He_ needed_ her, more than anything, more than the air he breathed…because she _was_ his air. She was his heart, his soul, his life…without her…he was without his source of strength. He needed her back, he'd fought so hard for a year just to have the _hope_ of getting back to her. He was about to lead an army to war against the humans to repay a debt he owned for the help in making his way to her once more.

"Your ambition is little," the figure spoke pulling his attention back to the Chitauri before him, "Full of childish need. We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil."

"You don't have the Tesseract yet," he reminded the Chitauri, HE had it. He didn't even flinch when the Chitauri lunged at him, hissing, spitting, merely smirked at it, "I don't threaten. But until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words."

And words were his gift, Kona had often told him that, that the sound of his voice and the way he spoke were just…astonishing. He liked to think he still retained his silver tongue despite his banishment, despite the year in solitude. He was clever, his mind had not dulled in all that time, no…if anything it had been racing with newer ways to get what he wanted.

And now…now he had the chance to see one of them come to life before him. He just had to hope it would work.

"You will have your war, Asgardian," the Chitauri stepped back only a foot, slowly circling him, "If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice, where he cannot find you…" Loki's expression grew neutral as he listened to the creature speak, heard the threat in its voice, "You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain!"

And before he could react, the Chitauri creature pressed its hand to the side of his face…sending a bolt of pain through him…

That knocked him out of the vision, leaving him to jerk to the side, waking up in the middle of the hall of the base, exactly where he'd been sitting, his jaw clenching as he grimaced at the pain.

He panted, closing his eyes, that pain…it was familiar, it was entirely TOO familiar to him. It was not something he wanted to feel again, it was not something he wanted to feel a more extreme amount of as the Chitauri had threatened. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, trying to remember where he was as…he had actually forgotten for a moment in the pain that had raced through him. It was…blinding, it made it hard to focus and, for a short while after, made it hard to remember things. He swallowed, trying to push down the brief flash of fear that had filled him along with it, a fear that even more pain would becoming.

It was something he had…become accustomed to in the last year, pain, fear, anger, hatred, and so many other powerful emotions. The Chitauri…sometimes their touch burned him, hurt him and tormented him so deeply that he would…blackout. The longer they touched him for, the more intense it felt and…then there would be these flashes of random moments, moments of his past in Asgard, moments of his time with Kona, and…moments of himself… screaming, of something happening to him, of him being harmed in some way but…he didn't remember those moments, not clearly as they felt more like a dream of some sort, like a nightmare. He could never be sure what was real and what was his own imagination at that point.

But he didn't blame the Chitauri for the pain, no…they only ever used it when they sensed him growing weak, when they sensed his mind playing tricks on him and trying to forgive Thor and the Warriors Three and Sif and everyone else who had wronged him in his life. No, the Chitauri made him stronger, they made it so he could see clearly the events of his past. THEY were not to blame for his current state…THOR was, Thor and Thor alone.

He could remember it all, every single little moment, all the little instances, all the little digs that Thor had given him throughout his life. He remembered every single thing that Thor had ever done to him to make him the man he was now. The Chitauri had only helped him realize who the true enemy was in his life, his so-called brother.

Because of Thor, he had lost _everything_ that had ever mattered to him. And that was all there was to it. As a result, the Chitauri were his allies, the Chitauri were his army, and the Chitauri would help him get Kona back and stop his brother from destroying any more lives.

He closed his eyes a moment, shaking his head. That little voice was back again, the voice that sounded so much like Kona, in the back of his mind. He could hear it…hear her…whispering to him, telling him that was wrong, telling him everything he just thought was completely wrong. It insisted that it was the opposite, that Thor was his brother and the Chitauri were the enemy. But he didn't…he didn't listen to the voice, because the voice _had_ to be wrong. The Chitauri had to be right, all they had done since he had found them was help him, make him stronger, teach him, and give him what he needed to get to Kona.

It didn't matter to him what deal he'd struck with them if they upheld their end of the bargain. He would lead an army into hell if it meant having Kona, HIS Kona, back in his arms.

He stood, wincing as the pain wasn't just in his head apparently, his entire body was shaking with the remnants of it. He looked around, he didn't want to be there anymore, not around these…humans…he couldn't stand it half the time, how slow they were, how much they should be conquered. The Chitauri had shown him that as well, how weak humanity was, how they warred, how they harmed people they cared for, how they needed to be ruled in order to be protected. And now that Kona was on Earth and among them…he knew that they needed to be ruled and they needed to be controlled more than ever. If any of them ever dared harm her…he didn't know what he'd do.

He smiled though, thinking of her, feeling the pain start to ebb away at the mere thought of her, of her smiling face, of her warm touch. He hadn't felt as peaceful and safe and comfortable as he had with Kona last night in all the year he'd been banished. And he could tell she hadn't either despite having a bed and a home and food to keep her going. He had stayed for an hour longer than he planned the other night when he first met her again. They had talked about small things as he knew it would be inappropriate for a stranger to ask the questions he truly wanted to know, but he had managed to get her to speak of her life, of what it had become after she had woken up in the hospital.

And he had been _furious_ to find that the doctors had the nerve and the audacity to claim that she had tried to take her own life as the only means to explain how she'd appeared on Earth and her injuries. His Kona was stronger than that. It had infuriated him more to realize it was THOR's fault she had ended up in such a situation, his banishment of her that had led to that. It pained him dearly to see her suffering and enduring a punishment she should never have been dealt. It hadn't been her fault what had happened in Asgard, it had been mostly his plan the entire time, even if she had contributed some to it and inspired other parts, it was HIS plan.

He hadn't understood why Thor would banish her and yet had made it seem like he didn't want to do the same to HIM. He had had the chance to do so, just after he'd sent Kona through the Bifrost, he could have easily let him follow…but Thor hadn't. And now he knew why, the Chitauri had spoken to him of the events leading up to her banishment, able to feel something heavy in his heart as he thought of her. The Chitauri had made him realize the truth behind her banishment.

Thor had banished her because he'd known that it would hurt HIM most of all to be without her, to have her so distant from him, to know that, even if he _did_ find her again, she would never be his Kona. She would never be the girl he remembered because she remembered nothing and would remain that way unless Thor or Odin, whoever was king at the time, restored her memories.

THAT had been Thor's plan the entire time, it had to be. He had always hated Kona, had always been longing for a moment to get rid of her, he could tell it. The Chitauri had shown him so much in the Tesseract, in the gem that was stuck in the scepter he held. It had shown him the truth of his supposed brother's treachery, his darkness when it came to him, how much his brother had actually _hated_ him all that time. Thor must've known he was a Frost Giant the entire time, he HAD to have, it was the only way he could explain why his 'brother' had always treated him like an inferior, why he had made so many remarks about his sincerity and his ease in lying, why he often made him out to be a monster with those remarks. All the little things he'd brushed off…now he could see them clearly for what they were.

Thor had _known_ he loved Kona dearly and deeply, and had wanted to get rid of her. Thor had _wanted_ to hurt him in the worst way imaginable and, through banishment of her, he had succeeded. And now…he would always hate his 'brother,' his so-called brother. He had been telling the truth when he spoke to Selvig, Thor was no brother of his. Brothers would not harm each other, they would not distrust and they would not seek to hurt the one they had been raised beside.

Thor had proven that he was no brother of his and so…he would return the favor.

He frowned when the little voice came back, telling him that it was wrong, that Thor loved him dearly, that the man had always been by his side and always trusted him and that it was just the circumstances that had led to Thor believing he had betrayed by him and Kona. It insisted that Thor was only following the laws of Asgard when he banished Kona and that it had _nothing_ to do with trying to hurt him. The voice was pleading with him, begging him not to believe what his mind was telling him, what his memories were telling him.

But the voice…it had to be lying, because the Chitauri and their power had shown him the truth.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the scepter in his hand, before he nodded, knowing what he had to do for peace to reach him, for him to calm both his raging mind and his trembling body before he could think clearly.

He had to see Kona.

He always felt better after he spoke with her, no matter what. Even yesterday, when he had been so disoriented from his arrival on Earth, from everything that had happened, his mind had been so consumed with finding her that, when he finally had, he felt calm, he felt reassured, he felt more rational than he had in a very long time. Everything was always better when he was with Kona.

He nodded, deciding that was what he needed to do, Barton could handle this crew that they were amassing. There weren't all that many there, there weren't many at all, but it would be enough to be done for now, it would be enough to appease the Chitauri while also making some progress with the Tesseract.

And so, with that, he turned and strode out of the base.

~8~

Loki quickly headed down the street that led to Kona's apartment, he could have magicked himself before her door but…he didn't want to risk her being near the window and listening for him and not knowing how he had gotten to her home and it would look less suspicious to those wandering the street to see him walking to her apartment complex. He found it very disturbing how few people there actually were on the street this time of night, but he knew that the neighborhood was a less than pleasant one, that the people had likely feared for their lives after sunset. He on the other hand, well…there was nothing to be frightened of, humans were easily dealt with and anyone who attacked him would be sure to feel how well trained he was.

And it was precisely because of how empty the street was, how quiet it was, that the sound of a muffled scream made him stop dead in his tracks.

No, it wasn't just the scream, it wasn't just the sound of someone clearly being attacked…but of WHO the scream belonged to.

"Kona!" he gasped, running for the direction of the scream, skidding around an alley to see two men before her, one grabbing her arm, holding her back as the other tried to grab her purse off her.

"Just take it," she pleaded, trying to get the purse off.

"Oh, we'll take more than just your money," the man holding her leered at her.

And Loki saw red.

Before either man could even blink he had stormed at them and grabbed one's arm, punching him clear across the face as the man turned, the dual force of the momentum of the swing and of his turn knocked him out cold, forcing him to let go of Kona's arm. The second man turned to him, clearly reaching for a gun, but Loki hadn't even paused in between attacking the first man and turning her attention on him as he merely swung the 'scepter' (now looking like walking cane) out and slammed it across the man's face…knocking him out as well.

He stood over the fallen men, about to transform the scepter back into its proper shape, about to stab the two men through for what they'd nearly done to Kona…

When a small voice called out from behind him, "L…Logan?"

It was a name he'd given her, a fake name, he didn't know why he picked it, but…he just had. He was trying to think of a name that was close enough to 'Loki' that he'd be able to remember to respond to it instead of his name and Logan was all he could think of.

"I'm here Kona," he rushed to her side, putting his arms around her, feeling her shaking in them, "I'm here," he held her tightly.

Kona let out a breath, "Good," she swallowed hard, her hands curling into fists against his chest as she held him, gathering the cloth of his shirt and jacket in her hands, clinging to him, which he did NOT mind at all.

He glanced back at the two thugs on the ground of the alley, "Come on," he whispered, dropping a kiss to the top of her head, not even realizing or bothering to remember that she probably had no idea why he was doing that, or why he thought himself familiar enough with her to be able to do that, to think she'd accept it.

But accept it she did, unable to help the warmth that shot through her at the small gesture. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath at the warmth that filled her. She felt…tingling, like she was just humming with energy now despite the fact that she felt so fatigued from her ordeal.

"Let's get you back to your home," he swallowed hard, knowing and remembering for that one brief moment that this Kona…her home wasn't Asgard any longer.

He led her across the street to her apartment house, being sure not to let her out of his arms as he guided her into the building, up to her floor, and right to her room. He forgot though, that she hadn't provided him with the key to the room but, with a bit of magic, had been able to push the door open…something which he knew, if she hadn't been so upset and shaken, she would have noticed and commented on.

He led her over to the couch, gently sitting her down as she shook, glancing over to see Loki-the-Kitten asleep on her bed, "Let me just make you some tea," he murmured, heading to her kitchen.

"Out of tea bags," she called, "And tea leaves," she sighed, rubbing her head, her eyes falling closed.

"Are you alright?" he moved over to her, sitting beside her, "Everything's ok Kona," he reassured her, putting a tentative hand on her shoulder, not sure if she would accept his touch after what had happened despite her having been willing to do so to get her back to her apartment.

"I just…" she shook her head, unable to put into words what she felt. Terrified? Vulnerable? Stupid? Everything and more she supposed. She should have known better than to walk the streets that late at night, but…she hadn't been able to sleep since she'd…well, since she'd met him the other day.

She didn't know what it was but…her mind was just consumed by him, her thoughts turned to him constantly, her mind repeating things he'd spoken, the sound of his voice, the feel of his brief touches. She hadn't been able to focus all day he had been so prominent a thought and…it scared her a little. She had met many people in the last year, none of them had ever affected her the way a one hour meeting with HIM had. No one had taken over her thoughts so completely as him. She hadn't been able to sleep, had just…been restless.

It was odd, she had felt so calm the other day, the night actually, the time he'd spent with her before he'd had to leave. She'd felt more clam and safe in that one hour with him than she had the entire year. No…she didn't want to lose that. There was something so…familiar about him but she couldn't place it. It made her feel…comfortable around him, like she'd known him her entire life but…she was sure if she had that he would have said something, knowing about her amnesia.

But, in the same breath…there was something off as well. It was like there was just something…different about him, and not a good one, but…something that didn't belong. She just didn't know what.

Loki nodded to himself, understanding that she was partially in shock still. He had to smile though when he saw her physically turn herself to lean into his touch more and slowly scooted closer to her, his arm moving around her shoulders, holding her close as his right hand took one of her own. He wanted so desperately to calm her, to have her feel safe and…calm. Like…like he did even now.

It was remarkable the effect she had on him. He never felt pain when he was around her, all that he'd endured the last year just melted away. He was just…so clad to be around her again, his Kona, she just…made everything better and he was trying so hard to do the same for her. And...it seemed like it was working.

He'd just started to smile, feeling her relax in his arms…when she started to cry.

"Shh," he murmured, moving closer, turning her so she was hugging him as he held her, feeling her trembling, "It's alright Kona, it's ok…"

He closed his eyes, feeling his hatred for Thor rising again. He hadn't just taken her memories from her when he'd banished her, he'd taken every single thing she'd had to defend herself with. He'd taken her ability to fight, he'd taken her skills, her training from her as well. He'd left her completely defenseless and at the mercy of the humans and THAT was something he would never forgive the man for. If Kona had had her memories, he knew she would have been able to fight back, she would have been able to stop the men, no…she wouldn't have even been in that place to be attacked as she would have seen it.

He felt his jaw tighten, THIS was why the humans needed to be ruled, to STOP things like this from happening. It had never been his intention to rule the Earth as the Chitauri had believed, yes, he wanted the planet, but to hold as hostage so his 'brother' would listen to him, so that he could trade Earth for Kona, he would leave the planet alone if Thor ended her banishment, returned her memories, and allowed her back to Asgard. That had been all he'd wanted the miserable planet for…but now…now he was starting to think that ruling them might be exactly what they needed.

Freedom was the greatest lie, and giving people freedom with little control led them to do the worst things imaginable.

Yes…he would rule them, he would rule them all, and then…Kona would be safe, because then he could order them all never to harm her, to leave her alone. He nodded, about to release her…

"Don't," Kona whispered, her voice hoarse from tears, "Please…don't go," she begged him quietly, feeling him starting to let go of her and…not wanting him to. In his arms…she felt…not just safe, not just protected but…complete. She felt like she was whole even with the memory gap, "Please…stay…just…just a little longer."

He smiled at that, leaning back so he could look at her, brushing her hair back behind her ear, off her face with a hand, letting his hand linger at her cheek a moment, stroking it with his thumb, "Of course," he nodded, he would do anything for her.

He settled back against the couch they were sitting on, blinking when she didn't just lean back like he expected but pulled her legs up beneath her, leaning more on him, more and more until he realized what she was trying to say without saying it. He let out a happy breath, turning to lay back more on the couch, extending his legs out across it, Kona curling up along his side. The couch was rather small and she was half on top of him as a result, but, given the way she snuggled into him as he wound his arms around her tighter…that was exactly what she wanted.

He turned, looking at her face as she stared blankly at his chest, unable to see it but he knew she was growing lost in thought.

"You're safe now Kona," he murmured, "I won't let anything hurt you, not ever. I won't ever leave you."

Not again, he swore, never again.

He watched as the smallest of smiles made its way onto her face, "Thank you," she whispered.

He nodded, knowing she'd feel it, watching her again as her eyes drifted shut and she rested her head half on his shoulder. He turned his head, his eyes searching her face, seeing it relax, seeing her…truly feeling safe, and smiled. He let his own eyes drift closed, turning his head more to rest his forehead to hers.

Yes, he wouldn't fail her this time, not again, this time…he would protect her.

A/N: Awww, poor Kona :( Good thing 'Logan' was there ;) Little bit of fluff, but much more in the next chapter ;) Also, some hints in this chapter of things to come ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I love stuttering Loki because he's usually so confident :) Yup, IF it comes back ;) But I can say, as hinted here, even if it doesn't...Kona is very much drawn to Loki so there's quite a bit of hope for them :)

I gave Loki the first name that popped into my head, Logan, because it sounds like he might be starting to say Loki...but just changed it at the end ;) As for how she'll remember...that'll depend on IF she remembers }:)

Lol, I have no idea why I made her forget him here too :) I think because I wanted to show a different dynamic. With the Doctor he forgot and distanced himself, here Kona forgot and just wants to be closer ;)

I don't think it's wrong, Kona will NOT be happy with Thor when/if she learns the truth ;) I think they weren't punished because, from the Asgardian (and Odin's) POV their actions 'saved' Asgard from Loki's betrayal :( and it wasn't entirely a true law that the last rule of a king couldn't be reversed, it was more an unwritten one so the Warriors Three/Sif/Heimdall could have gotten Loki to reverse it, there wasn't a specific rule preventing it, it was more...it just didn't happen. For Thor though, we saw a bit of Loki's thoughts here on that, to Thor I think he felt he wasn't being rash as he'd had all the information he believed was available to him, that he'd had time to process it and make a decision and that what he saw when he returned was proof enough that what he'd been told was true and he went from there, continuing with the decision he'd already made before returning to Asgard :(


	4. Plans in Motion

Plans in Motion

Loki wandered through the base, pausing as he stared at the work that Selvig had accomplished in only the last few days. Well, it was quite a feat given how many more people there were working for them now. Barton had done well in recruiting help, most of the scientists and other guards had come willingly, hadn't even needed 'persuading' from him or the scepter. It seemed SHIELD had done quite a number in creating it's own antiforce.

"Put it over there," Selvig pointed a screwdriver off to the side, another scientist carrying some objects over, when he spotted Barton walking over, both men were unaware of his presence as he was hidden in magic smoke. He wanted to see what they'd say, what they thought, "Where did you find all these people?"

"SHIELD has no shortage of enemies, doctor," was all Barton gave him as he tapped on a tablet, before holding it up, "This the stuff you need?" he held up an image of a sort of rock, some information beside it.

"Yeah," Selvig pointed at it, "Iridium. It's found in meteorites, it forms anti-protons. It's very hard to get hold of."

"Especially if SHIELD knows you need it," Barton lowered the tablet, running a small search on were he could find it.

"Well, _I_ didn't know," Selvig shrugged, when Loki chose to step out of his smoke and join them. Selvig grinned and pointed at him, "Hey! This is wonderful," he too walked closer to the plastic opening to speak to Loki, "The Tesseract has shown me so much. It's…it's more than knowledge, it's truth," he breathed, seeming truly touched by that.

"I know," Loki smiled, nodding, "It…" he blinked a bit, starting to frown, "It touches everyone differently."

He paused, considering what _he_ had seen, how much of his life had been a lie, how much of it had been one manipulation after the other, the truth in how his brother had treated him, how he'd belittled him, how he'd…continuously made himself superior. He closed his eyes, wincing, he just wanted to be Thor's equal, but now…now he knew, the Tesseract had shown him he was NOT Thor's equal.

He was his superior.

But…in all that, in all the lies he now saw through, there was only one single truth in his existence on Asgard.

Kona.

Through all that time, she had been his one constant, she had been the one person whose faith in him had never been broken. Even his mo…Frigga, he'd seen it, when Thor had spouted his accusations against them, he'd seen his mother's face. He'd glanced at her, had seen the shock and the disbelief but also…the betrayal. He'd seen it, no matter what and no matter what the woman claimed, for one brief moment…she had believed it. She had truly thought him and Kona capable of betraying their homes.

Everyone he had ever loved had given up on him, had thought him able to just…turn his back on Asgard, to attack it, to attempt to end Odin's life…his father, his brother, his mother, his 'friends' (if he could call the Warriors Three and Sif that), every single person had turned their back on him, whether for an instant or for longer, they had. All of them…except Kona.

She had stayed at his side, she had believed in him, trusted him, helped him, counseled him. She had defended him and protected him and…her faith in him meant everything to him. To know that she had been banished still trusting him…he had felt the desperate need to get back to her, to prove her faith in him well founded.

The Chitauri had shown him that, that she was the only one in his world that was worth anything. And now it was his turn to protect her, to ensure the humans never harmed her, to keep the Asgardians who might come after her away.

"What did it show you Agent Barton?" he shook his head, looking at Barton. Knowing that he would have to ensure that the man understood the mission that was to follow. For the next step of the plan to take place, they needed the Iridium, and he knew exactly the distraction that would be needed. But…to do that…it meant that Kona would be left in the hands of others, and, at the moment, the only one he could trust to protect her…was Barton.

"My next target," Barton stated.

"Tell me what you need," Loki smirked.

Barton walked over to a small case, popping it open and taking out his collapsible bow. He flicked it open, turning his head to look at Loki, "I need a distraction. And an eyeball."

"Very well then," Loki nodded, "I shall get you both, but you must so something for me as well."

Barton nodded, it was only fair, he was asking for 2 things, that still left Loki open to request something else, "Name it sir."

Loki smirked, "Come with me."

~8~

"Coming!" Kona called as she made her way to her door, hearing a knock. She'd been washing dishes in the small sink of her kitchen and hadn't heard the approaching footsteps of the ones at her door. She opened it, inhaling and smiling, "Logan!" she greeted, before she half threw herself out of her doorway and into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Loki laughed, his arms winding around her as he just…smiled, Barton tilting his head as he stood to the side, quietly, watching. That smile…he had been trained as an assassin, he was trained to read and respond to body language, to know if a hit was getting suspicious and other tells…Loki was genuinely and deeply happy at that moment as he held the blonde woman in his arms.

"How did you know it was me?" he whispered as he pulled away.

And it was then that Barton noticed…she was blind. Her brown eyes were hazy and cloudy and she wasn't quite looking right at Loki but near enough.

"I could smell you," she remarked, taking a step back, as though just realizing what she'd done.

She started to flush pick as she looked away from him, embarrassed that she'd done that. It was just…he was THERE. It was so odd how she felt so attached to him, she had only met him two days ago, not even and…already she felt like she was the most comfortable she had ever been when she was with him. It was…a bit scary too she had to admit. She had had such a terrible experience the night before, ha nearly been mugged, and…in the middle of it, in the middle of the mugging turning worse…a man had appeared and pulled her attackers off her.

Logan, he'd said his name was when they'd first met, when he'd helped her carry her bags to her apartment. He'd said he was just…in the neighborhood but she knew it was a lie, she could hear it in his voice and knew that he'd really been there to see HER. And she felt…warm and happy to know that, to know that he'd come to see her. And it had been so lucky he had, because he'd saved her.

She had been so embarrassed, even more than just now, to wake up that morning on her couch, with him there, with his arms around her and her head on his chest and been mortified at the predicament. Not just because it was a strange man she barely knew but…because she didn't want him to think that she was like that with every strange man that she barely knew. She'd jumped awake so suddenly that it had ended up sending them both over the side of the couch, toppling to the floor, giving him a rather rude awakening that she had felt terribly for.

She could still remember it, how he'd groaned, twisting so she landed on top of him and not it the floor, and remarked that he'd been having a good dream. She'd apologized but he'd just said that…that being awake was far better, because then he knew he wasn't just dreaming of her in his arms. She'd blushed bright red but felt her heart speed up at the implication that he had been dreaming of her.

It was mad, it really was, how she felt about this man, because he WAS a man she barely knew. She had done so many things she had sworn and been careful NOT to do, with him. She'd shown him where she lived, she'd invited him into her apartment, she'd let him stay, she'd fallen asleep with him, and she just…it was wrong, it SHOULD be wrong, that she was so comfortable around him. She didn't know him, she'd never met him, and yet…she felt more safe when he was around than when he wasn't.

She felt…loved when he was around.

But they had only met two days ago! This wasn't a fairytale, she wasn't a princess that fell in love at first sight…for quite obvious reasons. This wasn't a legend or a myth, there was no god looking down at her from Olympus or Valhalla that had been so taken with her beauty. This was just her being foolish and asking for trouble in letting this man into her life so quickly.

But…she couldn't stop it. She'd tried, SO hard to not think of him. Yet, the moment after she'd heard his voice…it was all she could think of, a niggling in her head saying she'd heard it before, that it was familiar to her. She couldn't focus on anything after that, it was like her mind was consumed with thoughts of him, with trying to place him with…it was almost like it was trying to remember him but failing.

Every moment away from him hurt, but every moment with him confused her. Why did she feel this way? Two days and she missed him, and she thought about him, and she half-threw herself at him when he appeared again. She didn't want him to go, she didn't want him to leave and take the comfort and the sense of placement that she'd found with him. When he was there…she felt like she was herself, whoever that was, she felt…

Whole.

"Smell?" Loki asked, eyeing her, in all the time he'd known Kona, she'd never remarked on THAT particular way of discovering him.

"You smell…nice," she shrugged, not sure how to phrase it or describe it. He had a unique scent to him, one she wished she could bottle up and keep on her pillow case. She hadn't ever slept as peacefully or soundly as she had last night in the entire year she'd been living there.

She knew why…she trusted him, completely.

And that scared her.

The way she trusted him, the amount of faith she had in him…it was staggering. She'd only just met him and…she trusted him. Implicitly. Completely. With everything.

And that shouldn't be, it shouldn't be that easy but…it was. It was like he'd done something more than just save her, that he'd done something MUCH bigger that had earned her trust. Because…she trusted him even before he'd saved her from those men. She didn't know what it could be, but she just knew that she did trust him, very much.

She knew that she believed in him, that he would keep her safe and protect her and that he was a good man. But she felt something settle in her stomach, a small pit, at the thought, that…something was coming.

"Who's with you?" she looked over at Barton's direction, startling the man for a moment.

"Agent Barton," Loki introduced.

"Pleasure, ma'am," he reached out and shook her hand as she offered it to him.

"And you," she nodded, before looking at Loki, "Agent?"

"Yes, um," Loki began, Barton frowning when he saw the man stutter for a second, seeming to be struggling with saying what he was about to say, "I…have an assignment, to see to, in the next day or so," he spoke, using enough of the truth that he knew she wouldn't hear the lie in his voice, "Agent Barton and I will be off but…I may have to stay longer. I've requested that he…stop by, make sure you're alright."

He'd really said 'watch her like a hawk' to be specific, but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh…" Kona blinked, looking down, "I um…I see…"

Loki frowned, seeing her look away, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she murmured, smiling up at him again.

But he could see how false it was and reached out, taking her hand, stepping closer to her, Barton watching curiously as Kona looked up at Loki, towards his eyes, seeming far more comfortable the closer he came, which was odd for a woman who had only just met the man he knew. The girl didn't even know his name.

"Tell me," Loki whispered, his voice so soft and pleading that Barton was almost startled that it was LOKI talking. The man had taken down a room of soldiers, destroyed a base, and had plans for world domination…and yet HE was nearly begging for this one small woman to admit the truth to him.

He vaguely wondered why Loki didn't just use the scepter, the gem, he now knew was a small subset of the Tesseract, a tiny crystal shard of it embedded in the gem on the scepter. But…the way the man was looking at her, with such…care…he knew that the woman had to be monumentally important to him.

"Are you…_really_ leaving for an assignment?" she had to ask, "Or…or because I…we…" she struggled to try and phrase it correctly, because they'd fallen asleep and been too…intimate was what she was trying to say without giving details what with Barton right there.

"Never," Loki murmured, lifting his other hand to touch her face, "That was…the best sleep I have had in a year."

She smiled softly at that, closing her eyes as she leaned into his touch, "For me as well," she agreed.

"The only thing I shall regret is leaving you," he told her, his voice so…honest that Barton began to shift, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, "If I could, I'd stay with you always."

She let out a breath, feeling her heart skip a beat at that, having no idea why she was so pleased to hear him say that, why it made her feel so happy and relieved and…overjoyed. God, she'd JUST met the man and already she felt like she couldn't live without him. She felt like…like she already had, like she'd endured a year and it had been utter hell. She had never felt so happy and content as she had the last two days with him there.

She shook her head, giving in, she didn't care anymore. She didn't care if it was weird or too fast or anything. She just…she was finally happy, despite her memory loss, she felt…truly happy with him there. And she didn't want to give that up.

"Maybe…" she swallowed, taking a breath, "Maybe you could? When you return?"

Loki beamed at that, looking for all the world as though Christmas had come early, "I'd love it," he told her, his cheeks starting to hurt he was smiling so widely.

He'd been terrified that he would come to see her and she would reject him, that SHE would feel awkward about just waking up with him and turn him away. He'd lived in fear, for the entire year before, that he would meet her and not only would she have no recollection of him but that she'd be cold to him, that she'd somehow only retain the 'treachery' he'd apparently committed against Asgard and hate him…and there she was, wanting him to stay.

His heart was racing at that as he gently moved his hand from her cheek to her chin, lifting it up and looking at her face, watching her expression carefully as he came closer to her lips. He wanted to kiss her terribly, he had from the moment he'd seen her but that would have been frightening for her, for a random man to come up to her and do such a thing. But now…now he could see she was comfortable with him, she…wanted to be with him.

He knew she was confused by her feelings, he had seen it on her face, but…he knew it was her connection to him, deep down, buried but there, still intact just…chained away by her forgotten memories. She still cared for him, still believed in him and, he dared to think, still loved him as much as he did her. And now, knowing he'd be away from her for a few days…he needed this, he needed just…one kiss, one promise, to do it.

He drew in slowly, watching her expression, feeling himself start to smile when he saw her grin as well…before she pushed herself onto her toes and kissed him instead. He let out a small, happy laugh as he returned her rather eager kiss with a deep one of his own, just…cherishing the moment, reveling in the feel of having her in his arms once more, of having her so close again.

He was quite breathless when he pulled away, which was to be expected, he was always breathless around her, resting his forehead to hers, "I shall return soon," he promised her, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," he murmured.

"Agent Barton?" she called as they turned to go, "Keep him safe?"

"Of course ma'am," Barton nodded, catching a subtle shift in Loki, in why he'd brought him there, to show him this woman, whoever she was, was to be considered Loki's equal, she was to be his partner in the future and was to be respected, her orders followed as though they were Loki's own.

Kona smiled, though Loki could see a small trace of concern for him as her door shut. He and Barton made it to the elevator in the back of the hall, stopping before it, as he turned to the man, "You protect her with your life," he ordered.

Barton nodded as they got in the elevator, "With my life, sir."

Loki smirked as the doors closed.

~8~

Loki stood on the upper level of a rather lovely gala, staring down at the well-dressed guests, all the rich of Germany gathered for an event. He tilted his head, considering them, none of the women shown as bright as Kona did in her simple dresses in Asgard, she had been…breathtaking, truly a simple beauty, a quiet beauty that came from within. Those women down there, they were trying too hard. He couldn't help but think, for a moment, that he should have taken Kona with him, she loved music and this was a party after all.

But no, he shook his head, heading for the stairs beside him and heading down them, what was about to happen, what he was about to do and let be done to him was not something that Kona needed to witness or experience. This new her wasn't…the old her. This new her hadn't been born and raised by a race that valued combat, she hadn't been taught the laws and ancient ways, she hadn't been trained for anything. He had seen it on her face when the men attacked her, she'd been frightened, she hadn't fought back because she hadn't known she knew how. He didn't wan tot expose her to that just yet. He was hoping he might be able to convince her to try some small sparring lessons with him, under the guise of teaching her self defense incase that alley attack happened again. Perhaps teaching her some familiar moves would help jog what memories there were.

He…wasn't quite sure how it worked, when a king stripped someone of their memories, whether it meant the memories were removed completely or if they were just hidden and locked away within their mind. He didn't want to risk using his magic on her, not when he didn't know what the result could be. Something like this HAD to be safeguarded by the king, they had to have thought that someone might try to restore the memories one day and wanted to ensure it was the king himself when he felt the punishment over.

He casually walked through the hall, flipping the scepter/cane in his hand before he turned and swung it across the face of a guard. The action caused the desired affect as a man who was speaking stopped, the guests turning to look at him. He grinned, striding right over to the man who had been giving a speech about the Iridium, and grabbed him, dragging him towards a small statue-like altar in the middle of the room and shoved him down onto it. He held the man down with one hand and pulled a device out of his pocket, flicking it on, spikes coming out of it before he stabbed it into the man's eye, taking a replica of the man's eyeball, transmitting the information to Barton who had a device of his own, using it to replicate the eye for a sensor, gaining them access to the Iridium.

He looked up when he heard people screaming and trying to run, grinning, perfect. Chaos was the perfect beginning to order, with everyone so frightened and alarmed and concerned and upset, it would be the perfect concoction to take control of them, just one small step in is quest to take the world over.

He looked down at the man when he stopped moving, pulling the device from him and slipping it, bloodied, back into his pocket before he headed for the entrance the others were scrambling towards. His modern clothes faded before the eyes of the citizens, turning into his formal Asgardian wear, his horned helmet on his head as he held the scepter before him.

He looked over, seeing police car heading for him and blasted it with the scepter, turning it over, flipping it in the air, before he began to project himself around the people, keeping them from fleeing, "Kneel before me," he commanded, but they still remained standing, "I said…KNEEL!" he grinned as they hurried to their knees, "Is not this simpler?" he asked them, his voice calmer as he began to walk, moving among them, through them, "Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end…you will always kneel."

He tilted his head when an old man stood, "Not to men like you."

"There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you."

Loki's smile tensed, "Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example…" before he fired a bolt at the man as well…

Only for Captain America to land before him, blocking the blast with his shield, sending it flying back at Loki, knocking him to the ground.

"You know," the Captain began, "The last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

Loki laughed as he stood, "The soldier, the man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," the Captain smirked, pointing up as a jet drifted down, aiming a gun at him.

"Loki," a woman called, "Drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki laughed, shaking his head, before he blasted a bolt up at the jet, which turned hard to the side to avoid it, giving the Captain enough time and distraction to fight Loki, the crowd rushing back, trying to avoid them both and watching with baited breath as the men fought…till Loki knocked Captain America's shield to the side, forcing the man down with his scepter.

"Kneel!" Loki ordered.

"Not today," the Captain jumped up and spun, kicking Loki in the face as they fought again…until something shot out of the sky and fired a blast at Loki, knocking him down.

Iron Man landed, "Make a move reindeer games," he held out his hand at Loki threateningly, just waiting for the man to make a move. Loki merely let his helmet dissolve, holding up his hands in surrender, "Good move."

"Mister Stark," Captain America greeted as he moved to handcuff Loki's hands before him, pulling the scepter away from him.

"Captain," Iron Man returned the gesture.

Loki just smirked as he saw the jet land, ready to take him away.

Perfect.

~8~

Loki sat, strapped down, in the back of the jet as the Black Widow piloted the plan off. He eyed the 'team' that had apparently gathered to take him out, a team Barton has warned would be coming. It was why he'd planned this, to be the distraction. Oh he could have easily had a bomb go off or something else, but this…this HAD to be him, because he needed to be taken to this Fury person, he needed to keep them all distracted from the real endgame.

He tilted his head as he looked at the man, Captain America, standing there without his mask, speaking to Iron Man, without his helmet on.

"He saying anything?" he heard Fury speak from the front of the craft, on the radio.

"Not a word," the woman replied as he smirked.

"Just get him here, we're low on time."

"I don't like it," Captain America began, and he looked up at the man, watching him.

"What?" Iron Man seemed not at all bothered, "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you were pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things. Y'know, doing time as a Cap-sicle."

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

Loki had just started to smile at their bickering, realizing his plan might just go even better to plan than he was hoping if they kept this up…

When a sudden flash of lightning and a boom of thunder struck, making him stiffen…because there was NO storm outside, and he knew what that had to mean.

"What's the matter?" Captain America looked at him, "Scared of a little lightning?"

He sent the man a small narrowed look, "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

And that was the polite way to put it. If he had his scepter, if he had something to fight with, he'd be better able to face what he knew was coming…because he knew Thor would be after him, and he knew that the moment he saw his former brother, he'd try his best to kill the man with his own hammer.

As though hearing his thoughts, there was a thump on the roof, Thor had landed. Loki stiffened as Iron Man moved to a side control, opening the hatch…

"What are you doing?" Captain America demanded.

But before he could even reply, Thor jumped down on the ramp, not even hesitating as he stormed in, slamming Mjolnir at Iron Man, throwing him back, right into Captain America before he turned his sight on Loki. Loki just glared right back at him, barely struggling though when Thor grabbed him by the neck and jumped out of the plane with him.

They fell through the sky, landing with a crash on a cliff below, Thor throwing him to the ground as he groaned.

"Where is the Tesseract?" Thor demanded.

Loki just grinned, shaking his head, "Oh ho," he nearly spat, "I missed you too."

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?"

"Oh, you should _thank_ me," he sneered, standing, "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth."

"I thought you dead!" Thor shouted as he stormed towards him.

"Did you mourn?" he scoffed, he knew the man hadn't. Thor had clearly held no regard for him at all before he'd banished Kona, why would he mourn, hadn't that been his goal all along? To get rid of his Frost Giant Brother?

"We all did. Our father…"

"YOUR father," Loki cut in, Odin was no father of his. He could have easily lifted Kona's banishment, yet Odin chose to let it stick, to let her suffer there, "He _did_ tell you my true parentage, did he not?"

"We were raised together," Thor argued, trying to show that none of that mattered, "We played together, we fought together."

"Are you perhaps feeling guilty?" Loki scoffed, "Oh, this is fitting," he started laughing, "You regret your actions now that you have thought them through. Well it's too late! None of that matters now."

"How could it not matter? The games we played, he promises we made…do you remember none of that?"

"I remember a shadow," Loki glared, "Living in the shade of your greatness…"

The small whisper of Kona's voice was back, urging him to remember he'd never been in Thor's shadow, never, he had been his own man with his own strengths. Her voice was whispering for him to remember all the praises that Thor had given him in his life, the encouragement…

"I remember you tossing me into an abyss!" he snapped.

Thor frowned, watching as Loki winced at that remark, he would have thought it was in pain had Loki's eyes not opened to reveal anger.

'He didn't toss you,' Loki swore he could hear Kona's voice whisper to him again, 'Loki…_remember_…remember the _truth_…you LET GO…'

He shook his head, that wasn't right, that wasn't true. He hadn't let go. Thor had THROWN him away. THOR had cast him out. He hadn't lifted a finger to save him. Thor had been the one to toss him off the Bifrost Bridge, send him falling into space. Thor had thrown him away…hadn't he?

Loki winced again, yes…yes he had, before he glared full force at Thor, "I who was and should be king!"

'You _never_ wanted to be king though,' Kona's voice reminded him gently, 'You hated it. You wanted Thor to take the throne, his proper place…'

He ground his teeth, ignoring the voice, it had to be another one of Thor's tricks, his treachery, he'd done something, made it so he'd hear Kona lying to him. Oh that would be JUST like Thor, to take away even HIS faith in Kona, to leave him with nothing. King of Nothing. But he wouldn't let him do it, he refused to let Thor take Kona away from him. Not again.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor shook his head, "No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki."

"And you're doing a marvelous job with that," Loki mocked, "The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idelly fret. I mean to rule them," he meant to stop them, to control them, to keep them hurting others, "And why should I not?"

Thor frowned at him, "You think yourself above them?"

"Well yes," he said simply.

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. Throne would suit you ill."

Loki glared at him, the throne would suit him better than a man like Thor. He shoved away from him and stalked off, Thor following, "I've seen worlds you've never known about. I have grown, Odinson," he nearly spat the last word as though it were poison, "In my_ exile_. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it…"

Thor frowned at that, "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?"

Loki rounded on him, suddenly defensive, tense, shaking, "I am a king!"

"Not here," Thor shook his head, heading up to him, "You give up the Tesseract, you give up this poisonous dream!" he grabbed Loki's arm, "You come home."

Loki looked at Thor long and hard, "You speak of me, and not her," he remarked, Thor's face falling as he realized the fatal flaw in his speech, "I don't have it," he pulled his arm away from Thor and stepped back as the man summoned Mjolnir, "You need the Cube to bring me home and I need Kona. Neither of us shall get what we want it seems. You no longer possess the power to restore her memories and I've sent the Tesseract off I know not where."

"You listen well brother…" he aimed Mjolnir at him…only for Iron Man to fly right in to him, sending him back, tumbling into the forest beside them.

Loki merely blinked, "I'm listening?"

Before he turned to watch the show, wondering how long it would take the men to realize they'd left him unattended. He could easily escape, yes…

But that wasn't part of the plan, was it?

A/N: I'm very excited for the next few chapters, we'll start to see Kona fitting into the actual Avengers movie instead of just the minor scenes with Loki soon ;) I can say the small interaction with Barton will be very important later :)

I apologize this was late, my computer wouldn't let me onto the account. Sorry!

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I'm glad you're liking the story, but it's really not that long of a wait no matter where you are in the world ;) 24 hours for everyone from when a chapter is posted, which is better than making you all wait weeks on end for a post ;) I can say that the chapters do get progressively longer as the story goes, the first few are more introductory/set the stage ones before we really get into the action ;) As for the upload times...that's tricky. Mostly because, for me, I'm updating at 6 in the morning, and...this is how it usually happens:  
-Right before I post a chapter, no matter when I do it, I always check the reviews to see if there's a new one that I need to put into the 'notes' section. Responding to the reviews can take (depending on the amount of reviews and the length) 10-15 minutes to do before I post. So even if I logged on the same time every day, the reviews determine how long before I post.  
-Mondays and Wednesdays, I have to be in work early because I have graduate classes those nights and have to leave early, so instead of waking up at 6:40, I need to be out of my house at 6:40. So on those days I update right before I leave around 6:30ish, otherwise the consistency would be all over the place with updates at 6am on those days lol :)  
-Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I sleep till 6:40 (I've been getting about 3 hours of sleep a night the last two weeks with work and final papers and year end projects coming and editing so I take an extra 10 minutes to sleep when I can). On those days, I wake up, check the 'notes,' and update hopefully between 6:40 and 6:50.  
-Weekends are when you REALLY feel the consistency...because I literally drag myself out of bed at 6:40 in the morning JUST to post the chapter before trying to fall back asleep for an extra hour or two of rest lol, I'm that dedicated :)  
...so, I really try to be as consistent as I can, updating between 6:30-6:50 every single day. This is my second story that I'm posting at the same time as another, I post my Doctor Who story first and then post this story literally seconds/minutes after it so that might be why, at times, it takes longer to get this one up. Then there's also that, even if I got on my account consistently at 6:30 every day, I'd be responding to new reviews first which can change how long before I post. And sometimes there are things beyond my control like the internet and the site being mean like today lol. Given the circumstances of when I update (and given time zone differences) I do the best I can for 6 am ;) I honestly don't think I can be any more consistent than I already am in terms of updating the story :)

I can't say if she'll get her memories back or not }:) It could be foreshadowing or it could be me trying to distract you or it could be a combination or none at all lol, we'll have to wait and see :)

Lol, that's ok, I don't blame anyone though, I only mentioned the time I update in a few notes and I know not every one reads them or reads every story I write :) I'm just glad they like it so much :)

I have no idea, I can say we probably won't see any more memory wipes coming that'll play a role in the main series for any future stories :)

I think Thor hasn't taken the punishment back because, to him, they DID still betray Asgard. He may have his doubts but until he can prove 100 percent that they weren't the villains, he, as 'king' can't risk reversing his decision and then 'having them attack' :( He regrets that his actions hurt Loki and Kona, but he was, in a way, following the laws of Asgard and 'protecting' the Realm from what he perceived to be (and can't prove otherwise) an attack :(


	5. Change of Plans

Change of Plans

Loki grinned as he was escorted down the halls of a SHIELD air carrier, armed guards surrounding him though he looked for all the world as though he were taking a stroll in the park.

Oh…a park would be a lovely place to take Kona. She had always loved flowers, even when she couldn't see them any longer, she could smell them and feel them and picture them in her mind. It had been a tradition of sorts for him when, on the day she'd lost her sight, to gift her with a flower, just…something small that could cheer her up. He'd tuck it behind her ear or hand it to her with a flourished bow or, one year, he'd even made a ring of flowers for her to wear on her head. She had always loved the flowers when she was younger, how something that started so small and that grew so naturally could bring so much happiness to another person.

And that was Kona to him. Their love…it had begun so small, as an acquaintance, her being the daughter of his nursemaid, then friends, then…more, so much more. It was astounding to him how the smallest gestures from her could affect him, a smile made him beam, a frown made him angry, it was so small, just like a flower, but so impactful.

He really needed to see that Kona was alright after this. He hadn't been lying when he'd told her he would be away longer than Barton would be. He had planned this, he needed to be taken in because he knew his presence would help distract the 'Avengers' as he'd heard whispers that they were called, from searching out the Tesseract and Selvig. He needed to be there, to keep them occupied until the moment came where he and the scepter would be needed to bring the Chitauri to Earth.

The only flaw in the plan…was that it was even more time away from Kona, time he was not looking forward to. He glanced over as he passed a lab to see a man he knew to be Dr. Banner standing there, working. His grin widened as the man looked up, watching him pass, seeing banner pull his glasses off and rub his temples. He let out a small laugh and turned back to walk, everything was going according to plan.

Even his captivity, oh Barton had told him about the cell he could see he was being led to. And it was just…perfect. He could work with this, he could make do with this quite well. He didn't even struggle as he was led into the cylindrical glass cage, the door shutting behind him as Director Fury entered the outer part of it, walking to the controls.

"In case it's unclear," Fury called, his voice a bit louder as he made sure Loki could hear him through the glass, "You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass," he pushed a button and Loki looked down as the floor fell away to reveal nothing but clouds and wind screaming around them, "Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" he pushed a button and the floor closed, "Ant," he called to Loki, before gesturing at the controls, "Boot."

Loki gave a mocking nod, "It's an impressive cage," before he smirked, "Not built, I think, for _me_."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh I've heard," he nodded, glancing at a camera in the corner of the room, knowing he was being watched, knowing WHO was watching him, quite a few members of SHIELD, among which was Dr. Banner, or the Hulk, himself, "A mindless beast makes play he's still a man..." he shook his head and turned to Fury, "How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

Fury scoffed at that, "How desperate am I?" he stepped up to the cage, Loki standing right before the glass, smiling down at him, "You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun," he shook his head at the 'god,' "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh," Loki gave him a mocking wounded expression, "It burns you to have come so close, to have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power, and for what?" he smiled and glanced at the camera again, "A...warm light for all mankind to share?" and turned back to Fury, "And then to be reminded what real power is."

Fury countered with a mocking-smile of his own, "Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something," he called over his shoulder as he turned to leave, Loki watching him go.

Loki nodded to himself a moment, before turning to stand in the middle of the room, closing his eyes, thinking about something…perhaps a…change in the plans would be necessary…

He grinned, yes…something to…shake his 'brother' ought to do quite nicely…

~8~

In the Bridge of the ship, the 'Avengers' sat around the conference table, monitors set up in the wood of the table before each chair, the feed showing them Loki just…standing there, unmoving.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner asked as he glanced from the feed to Captain America, or Steve Rogers as he now was sitting there without his cowl on.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve remarked, "So, Thor," he looked over at the blonde man standing at the side of the table, his arms crossed as he stared, frowning, at the image of his brother, "What's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor explained, reciting all that he and the others on Asgard had been able to gather about Loki's plans.

They had found it…quite unsurprisingly…harder to guard themselves without Kona there to warn them of upcoming events. He knew that, despite Loki being a Frost Giant and her being unable to see them clearly, she certainly would have seen an event like this coming to pass. He closed his eyes a moment, if he hadn't banished Kona…these events would not have come to pass at all. Loki would never have let go of Gungnir, never let himself fall into the abyss if he had had Kona to live for.

He could still remember his brother's last words, how he hoped he might see Kona again. If Kona had been in Asgard, Loki would have held on for dear life, he would have fought, he would have clung to that staff to his last breath. But he'd let go, which puzzled him as to why Loki so firmly believed that HE had thrown him off the Bifrost Bridge and into the abyss of space. But it mattered not, all he could think was that…it was his fault.

He knew, looking back on it, that he had been rash to do what he had to Kona, well…not quite rash. He had had ample time to gather information from the reports of the Warriors Three and Sif, he had had time to process the consequences of what Loki was doing, the punishments necessary. He hadn't known though, that Kona had been involved the way she had. He had gone to Asgard, returned, to save his father from an invasion that the Warriors Three and Sif felt was imminent, he had gone back with every hope that there was a flaw in what the four had told him, that they were mistaken. But upon learning that, seeing her and Loki celebrating the success of their plans…he had realized that they truly HAD plotted against Asgard and allowed the Frost Giants in. And to hear Kona's attempts to defend it, actually admitting that they had willingly halted his coronation…he had completely and truly believed he had heard enough of the truth, and the punishment for the crimes they appeared to have committed, for Kona at least, was banishment.

The truly worst part of it all was…even now, even with his…doubts about the entire situation, he still could not return Kona to Asgard. He had no proof at all to the contrary of what he had punished her for. He had no concrete proof that what she had claimed and the reasons she said she had done what she did were true. He had ample evidence against her and Loki, their actions speaking louder than their words and now…Kona's words were missing and Loki refused to even look at him. He could no more find the truth of what happened than he could counter the banishment without it.

It was truly a no-win situation and, through his own actions, he had made the discovery of the truth near impossible. And without knowing the complete truth of what had happened on Asgard, he could not risk reversing the banishment, or requesting Odin reverse it. Until he could be sure that Kona and Loki were not just…biding their time to attack Asgard again…he could not risk returning them to the Realm.

"They're not of Asgard nor any world known," Thor continued, shaking his head, "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army, from outer space?" Steve frowned.

"So, he's building another portal," Banner nodded, "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor looked up at that, "Selvig?"

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend."

"Loki has them under some kind of spell," the Black Widow, or Natasha as she had insisted they call her, spoke, "Along with one of ours."

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve murmured, "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner remarked, "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you can small crazy on him…"

"Have care how you speak," Thor glared at him, uncrossing his arms to rise to his full height, "Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."

Natasha blinked, "He killed eighty people in two days," she deadpanned.

Thor's expression turned uncomfortable, "He's adopted?" he offered.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Banner got them back on target, "Iridium, what do they need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabil…" Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, began as he entered with Agent Coulson, only for Natasha to stiffen and cut him off.

"Guys…Loki's doing something," she called, staring at the screen before her.

They all looked down to see Loki had moved to hold his hands out before him, a soft mist of green drifting off of his hands and forming before him, creating a sort of…screen if it had to be described.

Natasha hit a button and the image zoomed in slightly when a soft glow came to the mist…and an image formed within it.

"It can't be…" Thor breathed, staring, wide eyed, as the image cleared.

"What?" Steve looked at him, "What is it?"

"WHO is it?" Natasha corrected.

"Kona…" Thor breathed, seeing her image appear in the mist…but that wasn't all…

~8~

Loki smiled as he stood in the cell, staring at the image of Kona, no…not an image, a portal, a viewing glass of sorts. He could see what she was doing, right then, at that very moment…sitting in her apartment, with 'Loki' on her lap, just…in thought.

He moved one of his hands up before him, his other hand below to maintain the mist, and snapped his fingers.

Kona looked over, hearing a ringing noise, and reached over to pick up her phone, "Hello?"

He smiled, hearing her voice echoing through the room, it was a small trick that he'd picked up when he'd been a child. He would use it to check on Kona at times, when he had been a bit too mischievous, caused too many problems, and Odin had forbidden him to leave his chambers or others to visit him. It worked best with the crystal he had given her to act as a communication back to him. His face would appear in the crystal and if Kona held it, she could hear and speak to him.

A…telephone…would have to do in its place.

"Hello, my heart," he murmured, knowing that, right at that very moment, those watching him were probably staring in shock that he would call another that, that there would be a…woman involved.

There always was though, wasn't there?

"Logan," he saw her smile, "How's your assignment going?"

"Hit a bit of a…snag," he offered, knowing that if he said it was going exactly accordingly, the others would become suspicious.

Her expression fell at that and he almost took it back to reassure her it was actually fine, "Does…does that mean you'll be longer?"

He let out a sad breath, "It might," he agreed, glancing at the camera watching him.

"Oh…" Kona nodded.

His free hand lifted to gently trace her saddened face, stroking along her cheek, wishing he could truly touch her, "I miss you," he offered, smiling when he saw her start to smile too.

"I miss you as well," she laughed.

"But worry not," he added, "I shall see you…_very_ soon."

She nodded, "I look forward to it then, I…I really_ do_ miss you," she spoke quietly.

And he could hear it in her voice, she really did. He did as well. It was like…having been apart for an entire year, having been so distant from each other…to have her back, and then force himself to leave her again…it was torture. He just wanted to be back beside her, but he had a mission, and he needed to see it through, for her. It was all for her, to get her back to Asgard, to get her memories back, and to do that…he needed the Chitauri's help. In order to gain their help he had needed to agree to their terms.

"I don't believe you miss me as much as I do you," he countered lightly.

He watched her blush lightly at that, hearing the tone in his voice just how much he truly did miss her. She reached out, petting Loki the Kitten and nodded, "Come back soon," she whispered, as though she could sense that he couldn't keep the line open very much longer, which he couldn't, not just because it did take considerable effort to maintain it given it was a telephone and not a crystal, which was naturally conductive of magic, but because he knew the others were watching, and he had to make sure that their interest was piqued just enough to see the next step in his altered-plan come to a head.

"I shall try with all my heart," he whispered, "Nothing will keep me from you for long Kona, nothing at all."

He watched her smile before she put the telephone down, and waved his hand through the mist. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, pressing his hands together as though in prayer and pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips…before casting the smallest of glances at the camera…a smirk appearing on his face.

That ought to do it.

~8~

Thor stood in the Bridge, Agent Coulson beside him as the man showed him an image of Jane Foster, the woman he had fallen in love with when last on Earth. There were…a few agents missing off the ship, Fury among them, preparing for a…very delicate mission at the moment, one that had nearly interrupted Tony Stark's explanation of Loki's plan. The man had gotten right back to it, explaining why Loki and Selvig needed the Iridium, what the plans were, and all of them breaking off to do different deeds, but…that was only after Fury had given the order for the latest mission.

One Thor himself was not comfortable with at all.

"As soon as Loki took the doctor we moved Jane Foster," Coulson was saying, though Thor had a difficult time paying attention, "We've got an excellent observatory in Tromso. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe."

He nodded, "Thank you," he said vaguely, before sighing, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "It's no accident Loki taking Erik Selvig. It is recompense, I am sure of it."

Coulson nodded, "For the girl?"

Thor had explained to them exactly who Kona was when it was brought to Fury's attention that Loki had contacted her. The man had demanded that she be brought in, either as leverage or as an accomplice to Loki's plans. He…hadn't wanted her to get involved, clearly she was still without her memories if she was calling Loki 'Logan' but his pleas and arguments had fallen on deaf ears.

He had been forced to explain who Kona was, her role in what had happened on Earth a year ago. It had made Fury believe her an accomplice this time, until he had added that, upon her banishment, Kona's memories had been taken. They were of the impression now that she could still be used as leverage, Loki would not have contacted her if she wasn't THAT important to him.

It was clear in Loki's hatred for Thor that much of it stemmed from Kona and her banishment. THAT was why he hadn't been looking forward to Fury's order to have her located and seized. He…didn't want to confront her. Yes, him, the next King of Asgard…didn't want to face a small blonde woman who had no idea who he was. How did one face the person whose life…well, whose life they'd ended? He had essentially killed Kona in doing what he had, taking her memories was to take everything that made her HER. How did one explain it to someone else? DID he explain it? Did he keep silent? She wouldn't know who he was regardless of what he told her, he doubted very much that she'd believe him if he tried.

But…he was concerned. Loki…he understood the pain his brother was enduring the last year. To be separated from the woman you loved? It had been one thing for HIM to decide to be separated from Jane, to have had a choice in it. In doing what he had to the Bifrost…he had condemned Loki to be unable to be with Kona, he had taken the choice away from his brother. HE had condemned Loki to the suffering he'd endured.

He did not want to involve Kona and risk her being harmed or tortured or killed by SHIELD. He did not know how the organization worked, what they would do to her to get answers out of Loki. But…he knew he had to try to keep it at a minimum. He…he DID have doubts about Kona's involvement in Asgard, not doubts that she was a part of it but…doubts that what she had been shouting at him when the betrayal had still been so raw…was the truth. In order to find out the truth, one day, should her memories be restored, he would need her alive to tell her tale.

"I dread what he plans for him once he's done," Thor murmured, only able to imagine what Loki would do to the man as a way of hurting HIM for what he'd done to Kona, "Erik is a good man."

"He talks about you a lot," Coulson remarked, "You changed his life. You changed everything around here."

"They were better as they were," Thor sighed, "We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we…we come here battling like Bildschneip."

"Like what?"

"Bildschneip. You know, huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?"

"No."

Thor nodded, "Huh! Well they are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path," he looked over at the window, looking out, watching as the shuttle that would take Fury and his men to Kona was prepared, "When I first came to earth, what I thought was Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price," he swallowed, was it rage? Or had it been love? He didn't know anymore, he had had so much time to think on it but…the events of the past were nothing to consider given the events Loki had committed now, "And now again. In my youth I courted war."

"War hasn't started yet," Fury walked in, "Now, I need to know before I send my men into a potential trap…you think the girl can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?"

"Kona is…the only one Loki ever told the truth to no matter what," Thor stated, "But…this man…" he glanced at a security feed of Loki sitting in the cell, "I do not know. It is like it isn't him. Loki's mind is far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance upon me for what I did to her. Bringing her here…may drive him further away," he frowned, thinking of the wincing his brother had done, a…very particular wincing he had seen among certain prisoners in Asgard a very, VERY long time ago, "There's no pain would pry his need from him."

"A lot of guys think that, until the pain starts."

Thor looked at Fury, seeing a certain…understanding in the man's eye, realizing that he had gathered exactly what he had.

Loki…at some point in the year that had passed…had been tortured.

He was not sure whether to feel relieved or concerned about it. Torment of that magnitude…of the kind he saw in Loki, in his flinching, in the paleness of his skin, in the look in his eyes, and the bags under them…it could have a lasting effect. It addled the mind, he had seen it. And…he couldn't be sure just how much it was affecting his brother.

He didn't display the normal tendencies of someone who had been tortured to believe or do something. Normally they became so complacent in the lies they were told that they recited it over and over, making it true, they didn't…think outside the box, they didn't make plans the way Loki did, they didn't…react as rationally as Loki was. He was drawing up intricate plans and creating arguments and twisting words, his mind was truly as sharp as ever which made him fear that Loki was, in fact, in his right mind.

It alarmed him to think of his little brother tortured, but, if he had been…it would (well, it wouldn't excuse or justify what Loki was doing, but it would) explain his actions, his drive for revenge, the reason why the events he remembered were playing out so differently than what had actually happened.

But he doubted it, Loki, especially from what he'd seen of him acting around Kona, was still as strong and clever and himself as ever. It was like…only a few things had been altered in his memories and…it wasn't enough for Loki to react like he was.

"Kona might…ease the pain," Thor offered.

Fury nodded, "Which is what everyone always wants in the end."

And with that, Fury turned and strode out of the room, Thor watching him go, wondering if he'd made a terrible, terrible mistake.

~8~

Kona was lying on her couch, Loki the Kitten curled up on her lap as she dozed off, a soft smile on her face as she took a nap. She…had been anxious all day, wondering if Logan was alright, if he was ok, how the assignment was going, when he'd be back, if anything had happened to him…it had really gotten to her, how much she worried. She'd paced, she'd tried to eat but ended up giving her meager portions to Loki, she'd tried to clean but ended up actually polishing a small dip into the flimsy wood of her small table she was so distracted.

But then he'd called and to hear he was alright, even if he would be a day or so longer, she had been so relieved. She felt like all the anxiety and concern that had built up had disappeared and she could focus and relax. She'd actually laid down right after he'd called and found herself drifting off…

When there was a loud crash as her door was literally kicked open.

The kitten jumped into the hair with a hiss, flying off the couch and onto the floor, as Kona herself leapt to her feet, backing up with a gasp as she heard people storm into her apartment, "What's going on?!" she gasped, listening, hearing two men standing there, hearing a click and realizing they had guns. She lifted her hands in surrender, terrified.

"Are you Kona?" a third man asked as he stepped in, his steps calm and quiet, but heavy.

"Yes?" she shook her head, "What's that got to do with anything? What have I done?"

"I am Director Fury…" he began.

She blinked, slowly lowering her hands, "Did…did Agent Barton send you?"

She heard the men stiffen and realized that was probably NOT the right thing to say, "As a matter of fact…" the man stepped closer to her, "Agent Barton works for us, we need you to come with us."

"Why?" she shook her head, "I don't understand…"

"There's someone you need to see," was all Fury said as he took her arm and pulled her to her door and out it.

She glanced back, hearing the door shut, hearing a muffled hiss and clawing at it, realizing Loki had been locked inside.

~8~

Thor turned around, hearing the doors to the Bridge open, hearing a voice he didn't think he'd ever hear again speaking. He watched, concerned as Kona was led in by the arm, Fury gripping her elbow as he half-dragged her in. The girl looked confused and frightened…which he expected was normal given what she didn't remember.

"Sit down," Fury ordered as he half-shoved, half-sat her down on a chair by the conference table.

"Please," Kona shook her head as Thor stepped over, quiet, watching her, "Just…tell me what is happening. I don't understand…"

"We have here a…" Fury hesitated, not sure what to say, clearly the girl's amnesia was a delicate thing, he…didn't want to risk triggering her memories and having another mad killer on the loose.

"Rogue agent," Hill stepped up beside him, "Code name…Logan?" she offered, glancing at Fury, thinking of the name they'd heard her call him.

"But his real name is Loki," the man nodded, going along with it.

Kona laughed, "That's the name of my _cat_, and why would Logan lie about his name?" she shook her head, clearly not believing them.

"Because he is not a rogue agent," Thor stepped up, unwilling to lie to her, he knew, better than most, that Kona would be able to see through it, even without her 'sight' she'd always known when people were lying to her.

Kona stiffened at the sound of his voice, something that didn't go unnoticed by Fury or Hill as they watched her, seeing her pale, seeing her eyes widen at the sound of it…or that she started shaking.

"W…who are you?" she asked, her voice quiet, a trace of fear in it.

It…it couldn't be…it just…couldn't. That voice, she knew that voice. It was the voice from her nightmares. It was a voice she constantly heard shouting at her, followed by pain, pain in her head especially. She always felt like the world was bright and then the voice sounded and it went dark again. And there were snippets, snippets of voices, of her voice pleading with him, begging him to listen, and of his voice, the words he said, the things he accused her of…made no sense at all but the anger in his voice was enough to terrify her into not being able to fall back asleep.

She closed her eyes, wincing as she heard that voice in her head, snippets of it from her dreams racing back to her...

'To what? More lies?!'

'You thought my birthright a mistake!?'

'I _banish_ you Kona. I strip you of your title, of your position in the House of Odin. I strip you of your immortality. And I strip you of your memories!'

She started to shake her head, panting, please...it...it couldn't be him. They were nightmares. They were JUST nightmares. They HAD to be because...the man...the man that voice belonged to...he'd hurt her, over and over again he did things that hurt her and she knew...he'd hurt Logan (or Loki or whatever his name was, she didn't care) as well.

And that scared her more than anything.

Thor straightened, "I am Thor."

Kona let out a shaking breath, and turned her hazy, yet utterly terrified, gaze towards him, "No…"

A/N: Uh oh...seems like Kona's starting to pick up on more than any of the Asgardians realized }:) I wonder what will happen next and what Kona will learn about everything...hmm...we'll find out soon. But I can't believe the story's already halfway over! O.O Time certainly flies lol :)

I can say...Koki (or would it be Lona? Hmm...not sure which one it should be lol) fluff will be very evident tomorrow ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Loki will definitely bring up how Thor only spoke of him and not Kona ;) And thanks I try to be as consistent as I can :)

We'll have to wait and see just what Barton retains of his memories of this event when he 'wakes up' ;)

You might be surprised what Barton does when his mind is restored };) Though at least we know it won't be him that 'gives her up' to SHIELD, they've worked out she'll be an asset as leverage here ;)

I can't say if she'll get her memories back just yet, we'll have to wait and see }:)

Lol, of course you can hug them :) But you never know, there's still a chance for a happy ending ;)


	6. When Plans Go Awry

When Plans Go Awry

Loki sat in his glass cell, his eyes open as he stared across the container, out at the controls just before the doors. But he turned his head when he heard the doors on the side of the room open and heard a very familiar voice, "Just leave me alone!" Kona was shouting as she strode through the doors.

He stood instantly, standing stiffly when he saw how upset and agitated she appeared, his hands clenching into fists, his eyes narrowing when he saw the tears in her eyes as Fury stalked after her.

"No!" she rounded on the man, walking backwards away from him as Fury opened his mouth to speak, pointing warningly at him, "You keep him AWAY from me! And you stay away from me too!"

"Kona," he called, making his way to the doors, his jaw tensing when he reached them and remembered they were still locked.

"Logan?" she turned her head in his direction before feeling her way over to him, him noting they hadn't even let her take her red and white stick with her, "Oh thank god," she breathed, only to reach the glass doors and press her hands to them.

He looked down at her, reaching out to touch the doors as well, holding his hand over where her right hand was, "What happened?" he demanded, looking at Fury instead.

But Kona shook her head, letting her left hand fall off the wall as she turned to Fury, "Let me in."

"I cannot…" Fury began.

"You let me in!" Kona glared at him, Loki watching as she walked away from the doors, away from him, and towards Fury.

"I cannot allow it," Fury's eye narrowed at her, "I cannot risk the prisoner..."

"You broke into my apartment, dragged me out, and put me in a room with a man from my nightmares!" she nearly spat, and Loki KNEW she had to be…not furious…but deeply upset.

When Kona was angry she…well, she was always one to hold more of a quiet anger. She would fall quiet, speak shortly and tensely and stalk away before pacing before him and ranting. For her to be shouting and snapping and spitting at the man she was more upset than anything. And when she was upset…he didn't like it, he always hated seeing her upset, because upset meant tears, and when she was crying…his heart broke.

"So you open that door, and you let me in there, or…"

"Or what?" Fury cut in, irritated with being ordered around by the small blind blonde girl.

Loki had to smirk at that though, Kona…was never one to turn down a challenge, and so he laughed quite heartily when the girl, somehow knowing of Fury's own blindness in one eye without seeing him, reached out and punched him across the face on his blind side.

"That's what!" Kona glared as Loki saw the man stare at her in shock, no one ever saw it coming when the blind girl lashed out, "Now OPEN that DOOR!" she pointed back at Loki's cell.

Fury shook his head and Loki's eyes narrowed as the man stormed past Kona, grabbing her arm in the process to pull her up to his doors, "YOU," he ordered Loki, "Step back," but Loki remained where he was, his glare intensifying at having been ordered, "You want me to let her in there?" he held up Kona's arm, "Then you step back so I can open the doors and let her in."

Loki's jaw tensed, but he stepped back, his eyes locked on Fury's till he was all the way back across the room where he'd been sitting. He gave the man a nod and Fury yelled back to a guard who had accompanied them, "Open the doors a foot," he gave the command.

The doors parted enough for Kona to be shoved through before they slammed shut behind her. Fury watched as Loki made his way across the cell in an instant, pulling Kona into his arms, the woman, for all her bravado, starting to cry the moment she felt him embrace her. He watched Loki closely as the man murmured comfortingly in the woman's ear, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair, before glaring at him as he watched.

"Do you mind?" Loki nearly sneered.

Fury shook his head before he turned on his heel to walk out, let the god or Asgardian (or whatever the hell he was) think they were giving them privacy, it wouldn't stop them from watching on the security footage.

Loki glanced at the cameras, all too aware that they were being watched, but not caring. He knew their plan in bringing in Kona the moment he had thought to contact her. He was thankful that he still had a connection to the scepter as he was the one who wielded it, that he still had a connection to the power of the Tesseract that powered the gem on the end of it. He could still contact and command those he'd taken under his control. He had ordered Barton to stand down when the man had been about to attack Fury and the other agents who had gone for Kona. He'd been watching her from across the street, or watching the entrance to her apartment building. It was funny how blind SHIELD could be when they truly weren't looking. He'd ordered the man to let them in, to not follow.

Because he'd wanted Kona there, he wanted his so-called brother to see what he'd done to her.

'No…' a voice said in his head, a voice that sounded like the girl in his arms, 'You wanted him to see that you're still in here Loki,' he frowned, not understanding, 'You need to_ fight_ _it_ Loki…'

He shook his head, forcing the voice away when he felt Kona shaking in his arms, her tears subsiding but she was still trembling, "What happened?" he whispered, leaning back so he could take her face in both his hands.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, starting to smile though when she felt him wiping her tears away with his thumbs. She took a breath, "What's your name?" she asked him, opening her eyes to look in his direction, "Your REAL name."

He frowned, "They…"

"No," she cut in, "They _think_ they did," she offered him a smile, knowing he thought the others had told her that, knowing that the others believed they had imparted this enormous secret to her that would shake her faith in him, "I could tell," she whispered, which made him smile, she could always tell when he wasn't being entirely truthful, those very rare and few times, "I thought it was odd, you didn't want to say your real name, but when you introduced Agent Barton I thought it was because of that, because of your assignment…" she looked at him, "What's your name?"

He swallowed, taking a breath, "Loki, of Asgard."

Kona blinked a few times and nodded, "Asgard…" she murmured slowly, turning to step more into the room, Loki leading her to the small bench he'd been sitting on, "I…why do I know that name?" it was…familiar to her. She had the same feeling upon hearing it that she had when she had decided to name her kitten Loki, that I was familiar and comforting and important.

"Because," he knelt before her as she sat down, taking her hands, "That is…where you are from, where _I_ am from."

She looked in his direction, "So I DO know you…" she whispered, feeling her heart starting to race, it would explain so much, why she felt so comfortable around him, why she trusted him so much so quickly, why she felt so connected to him…even why she'd named her kitten after him.

"Yes," he nodded even though she couldn't see. He hesitated a moment before lifting one of her hands to his face, allowing her to trace his features.

"…I knew it," she breathed at the familiarity in what she saw of his face, moving her hand to his cheek, "I_ knew_ I knew you…"

He looked at her, seeing tears in her eyes, "Yes."

She swallowed a moment, "But…why can't I remember?" she asked, hesitating before taking a breath, "What did Thor do to me?"

He watched her expression closely, seeing a trace of…fear in her eyes, "You've met him then?"

She nodded, "They…he was there, when they brought me here. He was in the room…"

She couldn't bring herself to say more than that. The moment he'd spoken, she'd stiffened, she'd recognized his voice immediately and it was nowhere near as comforting as hearing Loga…_Loki's_ had been. It had terrified her. And to hear him call himself Thor, she didn't know why but she'd completely lost it. She'd jumped back away from him, backing up, screaming at him to stay away, shouting at the others, at that Fury man, to keep him away from her, to stay back. It pained her to admit that she had reacted so violently to the mere mention of the man, but she hadn't known why other than that he had harmed her.

She could feel that much, Thor had harmed her in the past, he had hurt her, he had done something to her that pained her and she wanted him to stay as far away from her as possible. She'd started shouting when Fury and that other woman had tried to calm her down, had grabbed her arm, but she'd screamed and twisted and turned and pulled away and demanded the only thing she could think of that would make her feel safe.

She'd asked for Loki.

She knew he was there, they wouldn't have brought her there if he hadn't been, and she wanted him, she wanted to be with him because that was the only time she felt secure and protected. And with Thor in the room and her heart racing and terror pumping through her veins that was ALL she could think about, Loki and getting to him. She blinked…she had demanded LOKI, not Logan, she realized. It was like it was a natural reaction, to call out for HIM when she was truly afraid.

Fury had quickly pulled her out of the room, had led her through the craft before she could even realize she was being moved, only pulling away from him when he'd stopped before the door to this room, this room they were holding Loki prisoner in.

"He…he did something, to me," she continued, "What did he do?"

Loki squeezed her hand, "He…he is the reason you cannot see Kona," he explained.

She nodded slowly at that, for some reason that didn't seem like the thing that scared her most. Having learned from the nurse and doctors that she'd been blind most of her life had given her some sort of time to absorb that. Whatever Thor had done to blind her had been done ages ago and…it seemed like she'd come to terms with that, but what she was scared of felt like it was much more recent, that it hit her that much more deeply.

"What else?" she asked.

"Asgard," Loki began, "Is not on Earth," he spoke slowly, watching her expression, watching to see if she would believe him, "It is one of Nine Realms, of which Earth is another. There was…something happened on Asgard, and…you were banished, your memories were stripped away…"

"Thor was the one who did it, wasn't he?" Kona said softly.

"Yes."

Kona nodded, THAT explained it. Thor had not only taken her sight from her, but her home, her memories, every single thing she had had to her name had been stripped away because of Thor. It was no wonder she was terrified of him, the man had caused her so much pain and…the brief lines she'd heard in her head, in his voice, he'd been angry, fuming and it terrified her to hear him shouting at her. She knew he'd done something terrible to her…that was it.

And it was so much worse because…Loki had said SHE had been banished. But HE hadn't. Thor had only banished HER. He had taken Loki away from her as well in the process, not just her memories of him, which she knew had to be numerous given how deeply she felt for him, but had physically kept them apart as well. It was no wonder she'd held a deep heartache the last year.

"He took away everything," she murmured, before looking in his direction, "Why?"

"I am…sure that they must have tried to tell you," Loki remarked, a tiny hint of spite in his voice, thinking of all the lies they must have tried to tell Kona in the process of explaining why she was here, he couldn't imagine Thor just standing there as she shouted at him without trying to defend himself.

"They did," she nodded, recalling that. When she'd started screaming, Thor had tried to speak, he'd said something about so many things that made no sense, "Something about Giants and attacks and treason and…" she shook her head, "But I didn't believe them. I CAN'T believe them."

"Why not?" he eyed her curiously.

"Because they're not you," she shrugged, speaking simply, "I…trust you, Loki, I trust YOU to tell me the truth of what happened."

"You can't be sure that I will though," he remarked, needing to point that out to her.

'No,' Kona's voice in his mind insisted, 'You want to make sure she still trusts you. You want THOR to realize that it's possible to trust you, to realize his mistake in what he did…'

He shook his head when Kona squeezed his hands, "I CAN be sure."

"How?"

She smiled a bit, "Because you would never truly lie to me, Mischief Maker," before she blinked, her face scrunching in slight confusion, "Why did I call you that?"

He had to smile at that though, his Kona was still in there, no matter how deeply the memories were buried, she was STILL there. He got up only enough to move onto the seat beside her, "Because that is what you often called me," he reached out to touch her face, brushing a bit of hair behind her ear as the back of his knuckles stroked her cheek, "My heart," he added.

Kona let out a breath at the familiar words, recalling the last time he'd called her that, on the phone just before, it was even more familiar now, "So tell me, what happened?" she squeezed his hand, "YOU are the only one who would know the truth of it all."

He nodded, Thor had only ever known his own interpretation of the events that had transpired, influenced by the Warriors Three and Sif, and…knowing that Thor was watching him…he found that he…he _didn't_ want to say. Not because he didn't want Thor to know the truth but…he didn't want Thor to think he was influencing Kona with a 'lie' of what had happened. No matter what he told Kona, even if it was the entire truth of their actions on Asgard and their intentions, Thor and the other agents of SHIELD would think he was lying to her, trying to gain her sympathy, trying to make her believe in him and turn her against them, not that she wasn't already quite against them for their treatment of her.

"They will think I'm manipulating you," he warned her, "Spinning a version of the truth to earn your trust."

"Why would you?" she shook her head, "I already trust you," she squeezed his hands.

"Do you?" he smiled softly at that, "Still? What if I…what if I really AM the villain of the story?"

"You're not though," she murmured, knowing in her heart that it was true, "And you wouldn't try to manipulate me, you…wouldn't hurt me. You're a good person."

He felt his smile fall at that, at her belief in him, "Kona I…" he swallowed hard, not wanting to admit it, but…feeling that he HAD to tell her, he could no more keep the truth from her than outright lie, "I…attacked people, many people in the last day or so…I…killed them."

"No," Kona shook her head, but in a way that confused him as it didn't sound like she was in shock and denying it but more in a firm way that denoted that she knew the 'truth' of something, "You didn't."

"I did," he sighed, "I…"

"No," she cut in, "I mean…" she frowned, trying to think of a way to explain it, "YOU didn't," she reached out and placed a hand on his heart, "_You_…" her fingers splayed out across his chest, feeling the beat of his heart thumping under her hand, "Could _never_."

Loki tilted his head as he eyed her, but…he HAD. So…why was she insisting that he hadn't?

'Because YOU didn't,' the voice in his head spoke, 'Loki, please see what has happened! This…this is NOT _you_!'

"But you don't remember me," he argued lightly, "You can't know for sure that I am as I was…"

Why was he arguing this?! Why was he trying to make her think he was this…evil person that Thor had obviously made him out to be? The LAST thing he wanted was for Kona to think that of him, so why was he bringing it up? Why was he insisting he was this foul man?

'Because you want her to prove you wrong!' her voice answered in his head, 'You want her to get through to you.'

Get through to me how?!

He closed his eyes, letting out a breath, perhaps he truly HAD gone mad at one point. It wasn't insanity until you started arguing with the voices in your head as though they were really there.

"I can," Kona cut in, "And I DO. And you, Loki of Asgard, need to STOP arguing with me," Kona said firmly, "Because I didn't demand to come here just to debate this with you."

"Why…" he hesitated, "Why DID you want to see me?"

He knew why, of course he did, but…he needed to make it seem like he didn't. He knew Fury and the others were watching, he knew the information they wanted out of him, and he needed to steer the conversation towards it, he needed to make them think that their plan was working, he needed to get them all together, he needed to get them all quibbling and distracted, and he needed to do so soon.

"You're the only one I feel safe around," she murmured.

"So it wasn't Fury's plan then?"

"No," she shook her head, "I don't care what they want to know. I just…" she sighed, "I didn't want to be there anymore."

"This was…part of their plan though," he told her, gently stroking her cheek, "They brought you here because they knew I would talk to you, and only you. They brought you here…in the hopes of making you think me a monster and willing to cooperate with them."

"You're not a monster Loki," she stated, a firmness in her voice that made him both smile and frown, because…he was starting to think he was.

"No," he agreed for her sake, "THEY brought the monster," he glanced at the cameras out of the corner of his eye at that.

~8~

"So it's Banner then?" Natasha looked over at the others gathered around the conference table, mostly just Fury and Thor. Stark had gone with Banner to work in the lab, while Steve had wandered off, "That's his play?"

Thor just sat there, staring at the screen, looking at Kona and Loki with a frown. It was…difficult to reconcile the image of his brother, the man sitting there with Kona in his arms, whispering soothingly to her and stroking her face and looking at her with_ love_…with the man who had, only hours ago, killed over 80 people if Natasha was to be believed. It was…equally hard, harder than he thought it should be, to hear her speaking of him as though HE were the villain in all this.

And what troubled him most…Loki hadn't said a word against him, not truly, nothing Kona didn't already know or sense. Loki was not the one influencing Kona's reaction to him but…her own memories striving to break through the king's command. He knew it was impossible though, Kona would never be able to remember her life on Asgard, not completely, perhaps bits and pieces but nothing solid, unless her memories were restored by the king of Asgard.

Yet she retained enough sense of mind to recognize him, and the fact that she feared him…that she couldn't stand to be around him…it wasn't the act of someone angry with what he'd done or resentful of being banished. It was true fear, it was the reaction of someone who didn't know what they'd done wrong, of someone who had been harmed for no reason and was reacting to it.

And…if THAT was the most prevalent thing her mind retained…was it the truth?

"He wants to unleash the Hulk," Fury nodded, pulling Thor's attention over to him. Fury pointed at Natasha, "Keep Banner in the lab," he ordered, "You," he pointed at Thor, "Go with her. I'll join you shortly."

Thor frowned at being commanded but rose to leave with Natasha, his mind and heart heavy with thoughts and concerns of what Kona had said and how she'd reacted to him.

~8~

"You," Kona looked over in the direction of the doors of Loki's cell, hearing voice, "You're coming with us."

She started to shake her head, not wanting to leave Loki, but he wound his arm around her waist, "Everything will be alright," he promised her, whispering in her ear before he kissed her temple, "Nothing, nothing at all, will harm you," he let his arm fall away from her.

Kona frowned at the loss of warmth she felt from his withdrawn hold, before she sighed and stood, making her way to the edge of the cell, to the doors. She could hear them open slightly, a hand grabbing her wrist before she was pulled out and led away.

Loki watched her go, a small frown on his face, before he resumed his stiff sitting position and closed his eyes, focusing on the connection to the scepter, tapping into its control to send orders to Barton and the team that he knew were just starting to reach the flying ship. He smirked, he could feel it even now, the other 'agents' gathered in a lab, starting to bicker and argue amongst themselves, exactly as he'd been hoping. With them all there, there would be no one noticing the ship, there would be no one ready and prepared for the attack.

And with Barton in the lead…he knew Kona would be safe, that she would be protected, the moment the man was onboard the ship…his orders were to find her and bring her back to him, to get her out of there and keep her safe. All he'd needed to do was let slip the remark about the Hulk and the others would go squabbling to flock together, Barton had warned him of the different temperaments of the various men and women, they'd be more likely to argue with each other than to focus on keeping him locked up.

He was…disheartened that Kona had been taken away from him yet again, he didn't like it, how they kept using her as a tool to get to him. Thor, SHIELD, everyone tried to exploit her as his weakness, but they always seemed to forget...

She was the one he'd do anything for.

She was the one he'd fight harder for.

She was his strength.

~8~

Kona frowned as she was led through the halls of the ship, grimacing a bit at the soft hum of the engines and turbines that didn't bother the others as much as it did her, to her they were quite loud and…she didn't like being in the air, she never knew what was happening as well as on the ground. But there was ONE thing she DID hear…the sounds of loud arguing coming from the room she was being led to. It sounded like chaos within, men and women shouting at each other, threatening each other, something about a scepter and Loki and…she didn't know what else.

"Hey!" she snapped as she was brought in, "What are you shouting about!?" she had had it up to there with all of this. She already had a headache, the last thing she needed was mindless arguing and shouting and she already felt less than safe with all those men and women that she'd heard others claim to be superheroes yet they were holding her hostage as though she were a criminal when she didn't know what the hell was going on.

But before anyone could even answer…the entire base shook as though an explosion had gone off…and indeed it had.

A bomb went off on the side of the ship, knocking them all to the ground, Kona fell against a piece of equipment, crying out as her head hit the ground hard, cutting her temple as she winced and pressed a hand to it. Everything as a mess after that, there was shouting and shaking and running and before she knew it she was being dragged to her feet by Fury, dragged down the hall to what sounded like the Bridge from the voices she could hear in it. She was dropped into a chair at a table, but she pushed herself up, backing away to the furthest wall, not wanting to be anywhere near the people within. Her head was throbbing and the shouts were getting louder and the natural darkness she essentially lived in was making it harder to make out what was going on. All she could tell was that the ship was under attack or had been infiltrated or both.

She gasped when she heard guns going off inside the Bridge, Fury and that Hill woman shouting and gunshots being returned. She winced and slid to the ground, curling her legs in on herself, terrified, not sure what was happening…when she heard the whizz of an arrow and then the sound of static and could only assume that the monitors of the various computers had been switched off.

There was even more shouting as she could hear the sounds of the engines and the turbines shutting down, the yells of Fury and the crew getting louder and more frantic…and then…there was a hand on her arm, a…gentler hand than she expected of Fury…because it wasn't fury at all.

"Come with me," she could hear Agent Barton whisper in her ear, so low she knew that no one would hear it over the shouting and chaos, but SHE could.

She scrambled to her feet and followed him off, leaving behind the shouts, knowing that in all the franticness no one would notice her sneaking off or being led off. She started to breathe a little easier as she was led further and further away from the men and women who had essentially kidnapped her and closer, she knew towards Loki. Agent Barton, from what she gathered, worked for Loki and if he was there, if he was pulling her away from the others, she hoped it meant he still did work for him.

She heard a door slide open and felt Barton take her other hand to guide her in as it was more a ducking sort of pathway that she had to crouch to get past. She had just straightened, only made it a few feet, before she was violently yanked backwards, stumbling and falling on a small catwalk of sorts with an oomph as she hit the ground. She winced, trying to sit up, hearing Agent Barton grunting as he too was kicked backwards by someone, clearly fighting them. She tried to get up only for someone to grab her arm and felt cold metal wrap around it, a clanging as she realized she'd been handcuffed to the railing beside her.

"Stay there!" she heard a woman shout, before she ran off, the fight ensuing as she struggled to pull her arm free…

~8~

Loki looked up as the doors to his cell opened, seeing one of the men who 'worked' for him at the controls. He had just stepped through them when the doors to the side opened and Thor ran in. He grinned as his 'brother' ran at him…only to leap through him, a projection of himself, and land in the cell. He appeared at the controls and closed the doors just as Thor picked himself up.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" he asked his brother, moving away from the controls to stand before them, smirking, his hands behind his back.

Thor merely slammed Mjolnir against the cage, succeeding only in cracking the window, shaking it in the process.

Loki let out a mocking laugh, "The humans think us immortal," he remarked, moving back to the controls, "Shall we test that?" he pressed a button and the floor beneath the cell opened up. He moved to hit another button when Agent Coulson stepped into the room, a large weapon in hand.

"Move away please," Coulson began, calm, though Loki only glanced at him, unfazed, "Do you like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"

He powered up the weapon, preparing to fire…when Loki disappeared, and reappeared behind him, stabbing him though the back with the sharp spear end of the scepter.

"NO!" Thor shouted, seeing Coulson fall to the floor.

Loki barely blinked as he made his way back to the controls, pausing as he looked at them, "You know, brother," he mocked Thor, glancing at him, "Do you know why I hate you?" he asked as Thor glared at him. Loki smirked and an image of Kona appeared before Thor, between them, a projection of the Kona of Asgard, "You hurt her," Loki told him, a hard look in his eyes, "I could have forgiven you anything, any fault you made, any lie you believed, but this?" he gestured at the projection, "You hurt the one I love, you hurt her, because you KNEW it would hurt me."

Thor frowned at that, he had done no such thing. His reason for Kona's banishment had nothing to do with harming Loki, and everything to do with the traditional punishment of their people for treason. Loki KNEW that.

"And for that…I cannot trust you," Loki shook his head, and pressed a button, sending Thor plummeting down to Earth.

"Sir!" the guard who had freed him called, pressing a hand to his ear, getting a report, "We need to leave sir, they're starting to repair the ship. And…" he stopped.

Loki frowned, "And?"

"Agent Barton has been compromised sir."

~8~

Kona closed her eyes, trying to cover her ears, trying not to listen to the sound of the fight going on all around her. Knowing that Agent Barton was fighting to defend her, to try and get her out of there, to continue his mission…it upset her. He was getting harmed and fighting for his life against some woman and it was because of her.

"Stop it!" she shouted at the woman, "Leave him alone!"

But then a terrible clang sounded and she flinched, somehow able to recognize that the man's head had just been bashed against one of the metal railings, hard.

She could hear him stumbling around, groaning and grunting, before a very confused, "Natasha?" came out of his mouth.

There was the sound of another punch and someone hitting the floor, stopping moving. She held her breath, hearing the woman panting, before footsteps drew nearer to her. She closed her eyes, not that it mattered given her lack of sight…before a fierce punch struck her in the face and her entire world went dark…

~8~

"And Kona?" Loki looked at the guard, alarmed, this was…NOT what the plan was, it appeared he had underestimated the so-called Avengers.

"She's been recaptured sir," the guard stated, "We need to leave sir, now."

Loki's jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed, his hand tightening into fists beside him at that information. This was his fault, this was his entire fault, he should have left Kona in her apartment, they never would have thought to bring her there and now…she was in the hands of his enemies and…he couldn't risk staying.

If he stayed and failed to help Selvig launch the Tesseract's portal for the Chitauri…they would recall him back. He'd be sucked across space, back to their world, and Kona would be left to the mercy of SHIELD and Thor. If he left…as much as it pained him, he would still be on Earth, he would still have a chance of saving her, of getting her back.

"Very well," he ground out, turning to go, hating to do it, not wanting to leave her, but if he was captured now…the Chitauri would ensure he could NEVER help Kona again.

"You're going to lose," Coulson whispered, still alive though he was fading quickly as he sat hunched against the wall, the gun in his lap.

"Am I?" Loki scoffed.

"It's in your nature."

Loki shook his head, "Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"

Coulson smirked, using the ONE thing he knew would distract and infuriate the man, "We have Kona."

Loki glared at him, taking an angry step towards him, "Do not dare to threaten…"

But Coulson didn't let him finish as he blasted Loki back with a bolt from the gun, a bolt that reminded him very much of the Destroyer. He let out a breath as he saw Loki fly back through the wall, the guard rushing to help him, "So that's what it does…" he murmured before his eyes drifted closed.

~8~

Loki sat in the hanger of the small shuttle that had been used to bring his small rescue team to him, silent, fuming, glaring at the wall across from him.

Barton had failed him.

The Avengers had Kona.

And that would NOT do at all.

Perhaps it was time to accelerate his plans.

A/N: As much as I loved seeing Loki snapping at the Black Widow and getting angry and threatening, I sort of felt like, the second SHIELD knew about Kona, they would rather use HER to try and trick the truth out of Loki, to use her against him. Too bad Loki and Kona are a bit too smart for that and trust each other too much lol ;)

But now that Kona's still a prisoner of SHIELD and Loki is none too happy about that, I'm very excited for what's coming next. Kona knows a bit of the truth now and I can say, while her memories aren't back, we'll see her thoughts on all that Loki's told her and even a bit of her old self peeking through in the next chapter ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, I think Thor could be a bit like Marcia ;) He's definitely starting to really question what he did :) And poor Barton, he had one job, protect Kona and even when he got to do it, Black Widow took him down lol :)

Oh Kona definitely reacted to Thor lol, I could see her trying to get out of there and find Loki ;)

I can say Kona didn't get her memories back, in this story, the only way for her to get them back is for the king of Asgard to return them/unblock them :(

I like Loka too :) I'm thinking I should put up a poll for it ;)

Awww thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)

Kona's memories won't suddenly snap back or be remembered on her own. Here only the king of Asgard can return them :( But now she knows why she's afraid of Thor :) We'll actually see a bit more of Thor's guilt later in the story too ;) It was definitely part of Loki's plan to get her there, but there's...definitely confliction in his own mind about just why he did it }:)

I like the fluff scenes too, I can say there'll be another rather big one to come before the end of the story ;)

Lol, I actually have Thor 2 written up ;) It'll be up about 2 days after this one is over (a day in between the end of this and start of that). And no worries, I don't think it's mean at all. I can say, eventually, Thor will definitely get what's coming to him ;)


	7. Taken Prisoner

Taken Prisoner

Kona gasped awake, jerking up to find that she was lying on a bed of some sort, like a cot. She winced, pressing a hand to her head, wincing even more when her hand brushed against the bruise she could feel forming on her temple. She let out a hiss of pain before she moved to sit up, stopping short when she felt herself get dizzy and she was sure, if she could see, that the room would be spinning. She waited till the nausea subsided before slowly sitting up this time. She moved her legs over the side of the cot and took a deep breath, thankful she hadn't been restrained.

Her hand went to her wrist at that, feeling how tender it was to the touch and knowing a bruise was likely forming there from where she'd been handcuffed to the railing by that woman…and her jaw tensed. She stood up and felt her way around the room to what seemed to be a door.

"Let me out!" she shouted, slamming her palm against the small window she could feel, "Let me out of here! Let me out!" she started kicking the door as well, knowing that it wouldn't help but…maybe it would get someone's attention, "Hey! Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!"

She started to hit the sides of her hands, curled into fists on the windows, on the door, on the walls, on anything she could to try and get someone out there to let her out. She didn't like this, she didn't like being so trapped and…she knew what it meant.

She was a prisoner.

She knew that Agent Barton had been taking her to Loki, and she knew that Loki had escaped, he _had_ to have, she WANTED him to have. She wouldn't have wanted him to stay there and to risk being captured like she was. She…she knew what the entire attack on the base was about, it was a rescue mission, that was the only reason why Barton would be there. Oh they could have easily blown the flying base up, she knew that too, it would have been easy to destroy more of it than they had, but that hadn't been the point, the point hadn't been to destroy but to extract.

She hoped more than anything that Loki was safe, because…she knew it…she could _feel_ it, he'd come back for her. No matter what, he wouldn't abandon her. That dream she'd had what felt like ages ago, of Loki appearing on Earth…the drive she'd seen him, the determination to find something…it had been HER. It really had been. He'd travelled so far and endured so much just to get back to her. She knew he wouldn't forsake her now.

She'd heard it in his words as well, when he'd been explaining what he could to her before she'd been removed, that he didn't want her to be frightened of him, he wanted her to feel safe, to trust him.

And she did.

She heard his admission that he had attacked and killed people, but there was _something_ inside her telling her that was _wrong_. There was something so…WRONG…about it. That man she saw in her dreams, that man in that palace place, Loki in Asgard, he was…different than the man that had spoken to her before. But at the same time, he was the same. It was like…like there were two warring factions of him that were fighting for control. Around HER he was the man from Asgard, without her he was…she didn't know but it was NOT the same man.

She didn't know how to explain it, she'd just…always known things. She never knew how, sometimes the nurses at the hospital called her psychic, said she had the gift of sight despite being blind, it was an ironic joke between them all. She wondered now if, perhaps, she HAD been psychic in Asgard, maybe she'd been a seer of some sort (for some reason that actually felt familiar to her, like it might be true) and…if she had, even if she'd forgotten she was…perhaps something of it had stuck with her. She couldn't often remember her dreams, perhaps her feelings were just manifestations of them, of visions she was having that she couldn't remember.

Whatever it was…she KNEW that Loki…wasn't himself, there was something WRONG with him.

She just…didn't know what. And that was worse because not knowing what meant that there was no way she'd be able to explain it to anyone else, to make them believe her.

"LET ME OUT!" she cried again, growing more frantic as she pounded on the door. She didn't care if she bruised her hands or her knees or her foot or anything, she just wanted to get _out_. She didn't want to be a prisoner of these people, she didn't…

She didn't want them to use her against Loki.

Because she wouldn't put it past them to do that. They HAD done that, or they'd tried to at least. One thing they hadn't seemed to take into consideration if the…not shock but almost surprise…she'd heard in their voices when she refused to listen to Thor and demanded to be brought to Loki was anything…was that she would still trust Loki. They seemed to think that him lying about his name would lead her to doubt him, they seemed to think telling her about the crimes he had committed (both on Asgard and Earth) would set her against him. They didn't seem to realize that…she trusted him, more than the agents at the moment.

She knew that, by rights, she shouldn't trust Loki, because he HAD done all that they'd said he had. He'd let Frost Giants into Asgard, he'd attacked and killed people, but…she felt like there was more to it. She KNEW there was. They didn't seem to realize that she still retained some semblance of a memory of what had happened before she'd been apparently banished. There was more to the story that THEY didn't want to listen to, that they didn't want to investigate. And for that…she couldn't believe their side of the story.

They seemed to have forgotten that SHE had been banished for a reason, that SHE was there, she had been witness (or so it seemed) to what Loki had done and she could feel it, what they thought he'd done, what THOR thought Loki had done, was NOT at ALL what had really happened. And if that was the case for Asgard…it could be the case for Earth.

No…it WAS the case for Earth.

There was something else going on here that no one else besides her seemed to want to know about. And she hated that. They would all rather see Loki as the villain, as the enemy, than try to find out the truth. The Loki she knew, the Loki he was around her…he would NOT EVER do what they claimed he was. And yet they couldn't seem to see that.

THOR couldn't seem to see that.

She let out a breath, Thor…no matter what, she knew that the man was the true betrayer. Not just of her but of Loki. She didn't know why, true she didn't know the entire story, but…she felt it. THOR was the one responsible for all this.

"I swear to the gods you let me out of here!" she screamed, slamming her hands on the door…only to stumble back and gasp when she heard them open.

"Stop screaming!" she heard a man say, she didn't recognize his voice so she knew he had to be one of the guards. She felt him grab her hand and twist it down, "Stop struggling!" he hissed, "I'm supposed to take you to Director Fury and he wants you restrained, unless you'd rather stay here?"

She let out an irritated breath and stopped, holding out her wrists, hating the feel of the metal of the handcuffs on them once more but…if it would get her out of there…if it would mean she might get answers, she'd do it.

"Good," the man scoffed, "Let's go," he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

~8~

"Well if it isn't our guest of honor," Kona looked up in the direction of the voice that had spoken as she was led into the Bridge, knowing it was Director Fury that had called out.

"What do you want?" she asked, a bit of a spit in her voice.

"I want answers," Fury replied, a harsh quality to his voice as she was shoved down into a chair.

"Funny," she remarked, "So do I," she looked down, listening intently to the noises on the Bridge, she could hear…that it wasn't just her who was sitting there, there were…three other people sitting at the table, Fury was standing across from it and she could hear someone breathing gently beside him, likely also standing. There was another person idly pacing to the side, the steps too soft to be anything but the woman that had fought Agent Barton earlier.

The people at the table…she could recognize the sound of one man's breathing, it was Agent Barton himself, she didn't know why he was there, why he was apparently working for SHIELD now, but she didn't really care, the other two men…well, she knew they were men by their breathing and by how the chairs were creaking as they moved.

She was surrounded and she didn't like that.

"Well tough," Fury leaned in, placing his hands on the wood of the table to narrow his one eye at her.

He had managed to get Stark and Steve to finally stop bickering long enough to agree to plan this out, to plan on how to stop Loki, had to pull a bit of a dirty trick with Coulson's trading cards, talk about the Avengers that Coulson had believed in, but it got through to the men and they were willing to do what was necessary to stop Loki now. Barton and Natasha had joined them as well, Natasha vouching for Barton's recovery. It seemed the slam on the head she'd dealt him had been enough to knock Loki out of his head. It had been her idea to bring Kona in, something that Barton had been muttering when he first woke up, murmuring about Kona, had sparked an idea that perhaps Kona knew more than she was letting on if she was THAT important to Loki that Barton had been told about her, if he'd been sent to rescue Kona while the other team went after the god.

And if Kona didn't know anything…well, she was still clearly important to Loki and that could be the perfect advantage to get what they wanted, to get him to stop.

A trade.

Her for the Tesseract.

It seemed like it might even be one Loki would agree to.

"Why are you doing this?" Kona looked up in his direction, "Why am I being held as a prisoner? I didn't do anything!"

"No," Fury agreed, "But Loki did."

"He didn't," she shook her head.

Fury scoffed, "We have visual and audio evidence of the slaughtering he's inflicted on other humans," he told her, "Our Agents were there, _I_ was there, Agent Barton was forcibly taken under Loki's control and made to do his bidding as he ruthlessly attacked and…"

"You're _wrong_," she insisted, jerking forward in her chair, hearing the two men on her right stiffen, the woman's pacing stop, as though she were about to attack the man, "_Loki_ didn't do it."

"Do you want us to play the video?" the man glared, irritated at how the girl was denying all that Loki had done.

"I don't care if you do or if you don't, it WASN'T HIM."

"Are you under his control too?" the woman beside Fury asked, Agent Hill, "Has he used the Tesseract on you as well?"

"No," Barton cut in, "No she…" he swallowed, glancing at Kona feeling a…stirring in him, but he pushed it away, "She had no idea Loki was doing anything. Sir, I told you this," he looked at Fury, "She has no idea what his plans are."

Fury closed his eye and rubbed his head, he was starting to get that as well.

"Yeah, but why is she so adamant that he's innocent?" Steve had to wonder.

"Well," Stark cut in, "It's not like she SAW him doing anything."

"Stark," Natasha rolled her eyes at the dig against Kona's blindness, no matter what, you didn't poke fun at a disability.

"SHE is sitting right here," Kona threw a glare around the room, "And I have a name. It's Kona."

"Are you sure?" Fury eyed her, "Or was that something Loki called you? How much of what you think you know did HE have a hand in telling you?"

Kona shook her head, "And how much of what I can't remember is THOR's fault?" she countered, "The man on YOUR side is the reason I'm like this," she reminded them, "So don't you DARE try to tell me that what I do and don't remember is false or imply that Loki has manipulated me when the man YOU trust is the reason we're both the way we are."

The room fell silent, "What?" Hill asked, sound a bit…alarmed at that bit of information.

Kona looked down, her face scrunching as she shook her head, "I…don't know why I said that," she admitted before wincing, "No…I…I DO. Thor…cast us both out, but Loki fell somewhere else…" she nodded, "Everything that Loki does is because of what Thor did," she looked up at them, "You are casting blame in the wrong places."

"No matter the reason behind it," Fury argued, "Loki must still be held responsible for his actions, both in the past and the actions he plans to take," he frowned at Kona, "He has an army, he's planning to invade Earth and conquer it."

"Loki would never," Kona shook her head, speaking instantly, "He has never wanted to be king of anything."

She winced, rubbing her head, she didn't know why she was saying that but she knew it was true. That was why it felt so wrong, why all of this felt so WRONG to her, this…wasn't Loki. This wasn't HIM. To see him trying to conquer Earth, she couldn't reconcile that with the man from her memories, with the man who was so sweet and kind and warm to her, it just…didn't make sense.

"Times change," was all Fury said to contradict that, "And now he is. So we need to know…what do you know about Loki," he demanded, "What are his weaknesses?"

Kona shook her head, "You're asking me to betray him."

"I'm asking you to help us protect Earth, protect your home."

"Earth is NOT my home," she reminded them.

"It's the only home you've got left," Steve remarked.

"No," she turned a glare on him as she stood up so fast that the chair behind her rolled away from her, "LOKI is the only home I have left, and I will NOT betray him."

"Then you leave us no choice," Fury stated, glancing over at Natasha and nodding his head subtly, making Barton frown as he watched her walk over to Kona as quietly as she could…which was nearly silent.

"Than to what?" Kona looked at him, feeling a…pain strike her head. She winced rubbing it…seeing a flash of light behind her eyelids and gasped as an image flashed before her.

She spun around, swinging her arms around to block a punch that Natasha has been about to send her way to knock her out, grabbing the woman's wrist as she pushed, turning to twist her arm over her shoulder and yanking it down, making Natasha cry out in pain as her arm was nearly pulled from its socket.

She felt Natasha wrap her other arm around her waist, about to try and grab her and she spun around, jabbing her elbow back into the woman's face, feeling like…like it was a familiar move that someone had taught her. She moved her foot behind Natasha's and yanked it forward, knocking the woman to the ground. She turned, about to lunge for her when she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and pull her back.

"Kona stop!" she heard Barton call in her ear and she let him pull her back…having been about to fight him too or struggle…when she felt him not pulling her away from Natasha, but away from the others, moving her behind him and standing in front of her _protectively_…

It was then she heard it, realized that the others had all stood up and had been about to advance and attack her for attacking one of their own despite it being a defensive move on her own part.

She…didn't know how she'd done that, _why_ she'd done that. She'd just…she'd gotten such at terrible headache just then and, the next thing she knew it was like she'd SEEN it, actually and truly seen it, seen a woman in a black catsuit with red hair behind her, jabbing her in the back of the neck to knock her out. And then she'd just…reacted, she'd…attacked her back, defended herself.

Well where had THAT been when those men had tried to attack her in the alley?

She knew where it had been, she…hadn't been as familiar with the odd things in her head as she was now. It was like…with Loki there, with all that he'd explained to her or tried to, the things that she hadn't understood in her mind made more sense. It was like she was starting to remember…without actually really remembering. She had no new memories of Asgard, nothing concrete but the things she felt like she remembered and the things she felt were stronger.

She'd just reacted and attacked and defended herself as though she had been trained to do so or taught to do so. The moves had felt familiar to her, and she knew it was Asgard, it was something she'd learned on Asgard, something…she was quite certain…that Loki had probably had a hand in teaching her.

"Agent Barton stand down!" Fury ordered, pulling her attention back to the present.

She could feel one of Barton's hands extended backwards, as though trying to keep her back, and the other was to the side, as though subtly blocking her and telling the others to keep back.

"I'm sorry sir," Barton spoke before her, a strain to his voice as though…as though he were trying very hard to do just what Fury ordered but finding himself unable to, "But I _can't_. I cannot let you harm her."

"Agent Barton…"

"I'm TRYING sir," Barton cut in, a small grunt in his words and she could feel him tensing, "But…I CAN'T flush _that_ out. That's the…the_ most_ important command Loki gave me," he told them, "More important to him than even the Tesseract, her safety. I…I HAVE to protect her sir," he swallowed, "With my life if necessary."

It really was, it was the one order that he just couldn't push away. And he'd_ tried_ to. When Fury had spoken to them before Kona had been brought in, when he'd told them that if the girl didn't cooperate they would be forced to knock her out, sedate her, and chain her up to use against Loki…he had been able to keep silent. He'd literally bit his tongue to do so, the thought of them doing that to her, treating her like a criminal as opposed to a prisoner, not sitting right with him.

But now…to see Fury actually preparing to do that…it was wrong, and he couldn't stop himself from trying to defend her, protect her. Because she really had NO idea what Loki was capable of and no idea what his plans were and he COULDN'T let them hurt her and use her like that.

Fury stood there rigidly, staring down Barton but the man didn't back down, "Are you still compromised Agent Barton?" he demanded.

"No sir," Barton stated, "But…some things…stick. Some things ALWAYS stick," he gave Fury a meaningful look.

Fury's jaw tensed as he realized what Barton was getting at. This wasn't the first time the man had made a call against orders and it wouldn't be the last. He looked over at Natasha, at Steve helping her off the floor, the woman rubbing her shoulder where he knew she had to be sore from Kona's attack. He couldn't even reprimand or order the guards to seize her, not just because Barton was guarding her, but because she had acted in self defense against an attack HE ordered.

He looked at Barton again, understanding what this was about. Loki, when he'd first taken Barton under his control, had remarked that Barton had heart. Barton was…one of the better men he'd ever met, much like Steve Rogers but in a more…sly way. Barton was a master assassin yes, but he WAS a good man. He didn't attack unless he was ordered to, he didn't attack without cause, he watched over and guarded and protected…

He closed his eyes, realizing NOW why Loki had taken Barton in the first place. All along Loki had known that Kona was on Earth, all along he'd known that she would need protection. He'd CHOSEN Barton because he knew the man, once the order had been given, would protect the girl with everything he had. THAT was the sort of order that Barton's mind would latch onto, that he would hold close and refuse to let go of. It was the one order he wouldn't have an issue keeping to.

And now it was coming back to bite them all.

"Fine," Fury opened his eye to shoot Barton a hard look, "You will be responsible for the _prisoner_, Agent Barton," he spoke, emphasizing 'prisoner' so that Barton would understand that, no matter what command he'd been given by Loki, Kona was THEIR prisoner, "You will keep her in sight, at all times. She will be under YOUR watch. And if anything," he pointed at the man, "Slips by you…" he added with a pointed look as well, "You will have ME to answer to. Understood?"

"Understood sir," Barton slowly lowered his arm, sensing that the danger had passed for the moment.

Fury looked over at the others, "Captain," he called to Steve, "Prepare one of the shuttles. Stark, suit up. Agent Romanoff," he scoffed, shaking his head, disgusted, "Keep an eye on your partner."

Barton closed his eyes a moment, knowing he should have expected that, disobeying Fury's order before had been a sign that Loki wasn't 100 percent erased from his head, even if he was 99 percent. It was enough doubt for Fury to be concerned that he might still have a hold of him. He understood, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Really…he was just trying to be a good person.

He looked over, watching as the other men stalked out of the room, Natasha watching him warily, "Tasha…" he began, but she shook her head and moved away, to the other side of the room, still keeping an eye on him but not standing near him.

He sighed, rubbing his head.

"Thank you," he heard Kona murmur from behind him as he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"I didn't do it for you," he muttered.

"Yes you did," she countered, "Loki may have ordered you to watch out for me…but you're CHOOSING to do it now," she looked into his eyes, even though she couldn't see it, "Because you're a good man, and…you have _heart_," she added quietly.

He stiffened and looked at her.

"I…saw it," she whispered, looking down, "I had a dream about…about Loki appearing, in…a room with a cube and YOU and Fury and…I _saw_ it happen."

Barton eyed her closely, he'd been startled hearing her repeat the words Loki had said to him. He'd worked out what Fury had, the reason why HE'D been chosen to be taken by Loki, why HE had been ordered to protect her. Because he was like a hawk, he really was, he observed, he fought, he protected.

"If you saw that, then you saw what he did to the others," Barton countered, "You saw him attack them, you saw him kill them."

She shook her head, "What I saw and what was actually happening are two very different things," she murmured. She looked around the room, unable to see the people within yet he saw her gaze drift over Hill and Fury and even Natasha, lingering on them as though she knew where they were. Before she shook her head and looked back at him, "I may be blind, Agent Barton, but I have ALWAYS been able to see Loki. More than anyone else. More than even Thor."

She swallowed, not knowing where that was coming from but…knowing it was true. She felt like it was familiar, like she'd said it before, and just…couldn't argue with it anymore. She stopped arguing a while ago. Now that she knew that her memories were missing and why, that there was some sort of magic involved…she just went with it for now. For all she knew, what she felt and remembered had actually happened at one point or another.

"Or maybe you really ARE blinded to him," Barton countered, but feeling…uneasy about how SURE she sounded of what she was saying. It was like she had complete faith that what she was saying was true, that everything they thought was wrong and that SHE was right, "You know what they say about love."

She looked down a moment, knowing that what Barton was implying about her feelings were true. He had been there when Loki had come to see her, he had seen them kiss, had seen them together. She hadn't exactly said it at least…not from what she could truly remember…but she knew it was true.

"Yes," she nodded, "You're right, I DO love him. Very much," she looked up at him, "But the same is also true about hate, isn't it?" she let out a scoffing breath, "Maybe YOU all are seeing what you want to see. Maybe you're trying to see an enemy in him."

"Or maybe you're trying to see a hero where one doesn't exist," Barton frowned, it was…alarming how much trust she had in Loki despite knowing what he'd done, despite the man himself having admitted to attacking and killing people, she kept treating it like it was a giant lie, "Maybe you're letting your 'hate' of Thor influence you towards Loki."

Kona shook her head, "I don't hate Thor," she told him, startling him, given the reaction Natasha had told him about he was fully expecting it to be the opposite, "I may be terrified of him, but I don't hate him," she took a breath, "There is…something happening Agent Barton, that you can't see…that NONE of you can see."

He eyed her a moment, suspicious of what that could be, "What is it?"

She let out a breath, "I don't know," she admitted, "But just…" she glanced around the room, speaking quietly, "I…need you to trust me. Please. It's NOT Loki."

"Agent Barton!" he looked over, hearing Fury call him, "Time to go."

Barton nodded, before reaching out to take Kona's arm, "We need to leave," he muttered, turning to lead her off.

Kona closed her eyes as she was led away, tensing, not liking how people kept leading her everywhere. It was one thing when Loki did it…she didn't like it when others did. She didn't trust them, especially now, she just…didn't trust them at all. They hadn't given her a single reason to.

She took a breath, walking faster as they went on, she just hoped that everything would be ok. But no matter what she couldn't make herself believe that it would be. Because she felt like…what was coming was going to be terrible, for everyone and she just hoped she'd be able to get them to see what SHE saw in Loki. Because she knew that they would attack him first without question, they would attack him and fight him and hurt him…

And she couldn't let that happen.

A/N: Kona seems very set to believe Loki's not the villain here...hmm...I wonder why? I can say it has much more to do than just loving him }:) But we'll have to wait and see. I really wanted to put this original chapter in to show not only her faith in Loki but a bit of her old self appearing and explain Barton and his reaction to that particular command :) He always struck me as a good man in heart and I could see an order like that sticking with him no matter what.

Ought to make the battle interesting no? }:)

Oh! Also, I'm putting a poll up on my profile for a sort of 'pairing name' for Loki/Kona :) I'll announce the winner at the end of this story on the 12th ;) It should be up within an hour :)

Some notes on reviews...

I can say Kona's blindness will definitely start to shape into an advantage very soon ;)

We'll definitely see more on Loki's thoughts on the Chitauri and the voice in his head :) There'll be a reason why he keeps sort of pushing it away and yet why he acts the way he does around Kona (like normal) :)

I don't like how they treat her either :( Sort of worse here as they see her as the enemy. Even though she hasn't actually done anything, her silence and refusal to help (even when she literally can't because she truly doesn't know) puts he rin a bad light with them :( Good thing Barton was there :)


	8. The Battle Begins

The Battle Begins

Kona sat stiffly in the jet as Natasha flew the plane through the buildings of New York. She didn't like flying, she didn't like not being on the ground. In the air…there was no ground, there was nothing to hold onto, nothing to feel around her. It was disorienting, this entire thing was disorienting. From the moment she'd been taken from her apartment and brought onto yet another aircraft, she'd been dragged around and told she was apparently from some place named Asgard and handcuffed and knocked out and attacked and…she never ever would use her blindness as an excuse for anything, she hated when people defined her by her lack of sight but…it was hard, everything that had happened, it was hard to endure it and not be able to see what was happening.

She tried breathing deeply, tried to keep calm but…she also knew that, wherever they were headed, it was into a fight of some sort. She honestly hadn't known what came over her when Natasha had attacked her, she'd just…reacted, but she doubted it would happen again. Or maybe it would. She just…she didn't know.

"I've got visual on Loki," Stark's voice came over the radio, making them all look over, "I'm going in."

Kona closed her eyes, hoping that nothing bad would happen, but feeling like that was all that could happen.

~8~

Loki stood on the balcony of Stark Tower, outside the room that Tony himself lived in, knowing that Selvig was on the roof, had managed to start the Tesseract, initiating the sequence that would allow the Chitauri passage to Earth. The beloved Iron Man had tried to stop it, and failed, of course he did. The Tesseract could not be stopped.

He stood there with the scepter in his hand, watching as the iron suit deconstructed as the man within walked into the penthouse, eyeing him carefully. He smirked at that and stepped in, paralleling the man's moves across the room.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki smirked at the man as he moved behind a bar.

"Uh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you," Tony remarked.

"You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. And besides, I don't exactly need the armor, do I?" he smirked, "Not when I've got the best weapon of all."

"And what's that?"

Tony's smirk widened, "Kona," he said simply, watching as Loki tensed at that, stopping in his idle stride across the room, "You attack me, I order them to attack her."

Loki shook his head, "I am connected to all the Tesseract touches and has touched," he warned the man, "I am well aware of Agent Barton's drive to see her protected," he let out a small laugh as Tony's smirk fell, "And if you dared harm her…then you need not worry about me conquering this pitiful world."

"No?" Tony scoffed.

"I would see it _destroyed_," Loki finished.

Tony's jaw tensed, there was something in the man's voice that told him it wasn't you're your everyday threat by a loon who thought he could really destroy the world, but…it was a serious promise, "You've got the uh, blue stick of destiny," he eyed the scepter in Loki's hand, "Would you like a drink?"

But Loki shook his head, "Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no, no, _threatening_," he corrected, "No drink? You sure? I'm having one," he held up his own cup.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes," Loki smirked, "I met them."

"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the Demi-God;" he grinned as Loki rolled his eyes and turned away from him, allowing him to slip on two bracelets, "A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins; a nifty little blind psychic…"

"Kona is NOT on your side!" Loki spun around, aiming the scepter at Tony as he glared at the man for even implying that Kona would side with them.

But Tony just continued, though a bit smug he'd managed to get one over on the so-called god, "And you, big fella, you've managed to piss off nearly every single one of them."

"That was the plan," Loki's eyes narrowed.

And it had been, get them all so worked up that they would fight amongst each other rather than focus on seeking him out. Keep them distracted so that he could advance his plans. Even make them focused on him, on capturing him, on keeping him locked up…while all the while the Tesseract was being completed, and they had no idea till it had been too late. It had worked marvelously, and he had gotten to make sure that Kona was safe as well. It was…rather genius really, to involve her. With her at his side, he could protect her, failing that, he knew the Avengers, no matter what, wouldn't let harm come to her, not when he knew they would attempt to use her as a bargaining chip. Harm her and he would end them all.

Tony shook his head and started to make his way to the center of the room where Loki was standing, "Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki laughed.

"Yeah, you're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Cause if we can't protect the earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

Loki turned and eyed him a moment, "Then you understand."

"Understand what?" Tony frowned.

"Why _I_ came to Earth in the first place," he tilted his head, "I came for Kona and for Kona alone. I wanted her back, I wanted to avenge what had been done to her. I wanted Thor to grant her safe passage back to Asgard, to our HOME," he spat, "If I needed to take the Earth hostage to do so…so be it. The Chitauri were merely a means to an end. They wanted the Tesseract, I could get it. I wanted to get to Earth, they could get me there. We had an accord," and then he started laughing as he walked over to Tony, pointing the scepter at him, "For all this talk of avenging…I wonder, how will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting _you_?" he placed the tip of his scepter on Tony's heart…but it merely clinked against the arc reactor fused into his chest. Loki frowned, "This usually works," he muttered, clinking it again.

"Well, performance issues," Tony shrugged, "You know?" but Loki glared at him and grabbed him by the throat, throwing him across the room, "JARVIS, anytime now!" and then Loki grabbed him again, lifting him up by his neck.

"You will all fall before me," Loki threatened him, "ALL of you will fall before me," his grip on Tony's neck tightened, "I will _never_ let anyone harm her again," before he shoved the man away, sending him crashing through the windows and plummeting out of the tower.

"JARVIS Deploy!" was the last thing Tony shouted as he fell.

Loki ducked down as something metal flew past him out the window and, moments later, Iron Man appeared, flying before the broken opening.

"And there's one other person you pissed off!" Iron Man called, "His name is Phil!" before he fired a repulsor blast at Loki, knocking him back.

~8~

"LEFT!" Kona suddenly screamed, grabbing onto the arms of the chair she'd been strapped to.

Barton didn't even hesitate to bank a hard left, just barely managing to avoid a beam of blue light as it blasted out of the machine around the Tesseract and into the sky. He, Natasha, and Steve looked up, out of the windows of the jet to see a dark portal open up in the sky, hundreds of thousands of Chitauri swarming out of it.

"What's happening?" Kona called and they could hear her voice shaking.

They looked at each other…not quite sure what to say.

Kona closed her eyes tight even though she couldn't see anything to begin with and panted, she really REALLY hated flying. She hated being around people that didn't answer her, that didn't tell her what she couldn't see. Loki…she let out a breath, she got the feeling HE always told her, no matter what. She shook her head and prayed as hard as he could that he would be ok as her mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of there, to get to him and to help him.

Because the others would try to kill him, and that wasn't what needed to be done.

Loki needed help…but not the help they thought someone might give him, as an ally.

No…she needed to help him in a way that she knew only she could, because clearly she, the blind girl, was the only one who could see what was really going on.

~8~

Loki walked out onto the balcony of Stark Tower as Iron Man blasted off, grinning as he watched the army invade, as he saw the humans get out of their transportations and step out of their homes to look up at the sight…before they were attacked and started to run for their lives. He grinned, closing his eyes as he listened to their screaming…

Only to wince a moment later, his face scrunching as though in pain, hearing a faint…crying, like a little girl. A familiar voice and a familiar sound.

"Kona…" he breathed, remembering that, remembering how scared she'd been, just after she'd lost her sight, how he hadn't been able to bear hearing her in pain.

'Remember Loki,' he heard her speak in his mind, 'Remember the truth. Remember who you really are.'

He opened his eyes, hearing instead the laughter of children as he entertained them in Asgard, when he and Kona would walk through the Realm, how they cheered and clapped…

He winced again, hearing the cheers of the _Chitauri _as they invaded and looked up at them. He shook his head, no…it was a trick. It was something Thor had done to him it had to be. Clearly the man was aware of how…different and not himself he was around Kona, how he…forgot the mission at hand when he was with her and had come up with some way to trick him into hearing her when she wasn't there.

He…honestly didn't know what it was, why he was so…different around Kona. It was like…when she was there the pain that he felt radiating through him at all times he wasn't focused on the Chitauri's mission was just gone. She made him feel safe and comforted and…warm and just…at peace. Ever since he'd been released from the Chitauri world he'd felt constant pain that was only ebbed away when either he was near Kona or when he was actively working towards advancing the Chitauri's goals with the Tesseract.

He let out a breath, he…could remember something now that he thought more on that odd detail. He felt…pain, such terrible agonizing pain _before_ he'd arrived on Earth. He'd been alone, he recalled, at the start of his own exile, he'd been alone and desperate to return to Kona, to find her. He'd stumbled upon the Chitauri and they had taken him in…and that was when the pain started. It was…crippling, he felt suffocated, he felt like he could hardly move or think or feel…unless…

Unless he was thinking about Kona.

It was like she had been his own shield against the pain, the place his mind went to escape it, him and her sitting in their meadow. He could see it even now, him resting against one of the tallest trees, her lying down with her head on his lap, a flower in her hair as he read to her. It was…peaceful and it was free of pain and it was the only place his mind could travel to instantly to escape it. She had become his safe haven, she always had been. She had been the comfort he always sought when happiness eluded him.

And now he knew for a fact that Thor was trying to use that against him, to halt the Chitauri's plans. Well he would NOT let it happen. He owed the Chitauri so much, they had…shown him _everything_, everything he had been blind to himself. They had shown him strength in the pain, they had shown him the truth in the Tesseract, and they had shown him the reality of his former brother's actions and feelings and regards of him. The Chitauri had given him the truth of the world, and the Chitauri had given him back Kona, and for that he would serve them in this.

He would let nothing stop him.

He took a breath, his Asgardian armor appearing around him, when there was a hard thump beside him. He looked over to see Thor had landed on a slightly lower platform.

"Loki, turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!" Thor threatened, holding up Mjolnir towards him.

But he just laughed, perfectly at ease, perfectly confident, "You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war!"

And what a magnificent war it would be! Soon he would have control of the Earth, soon he would have every single human that Thor held most dear in his power. He could demand of Thor what had been taken from Kona. He would finally get what he had come there to do, her avenging. He didn't care if Earth stood or fell, he didn't care at all…but he knew THOR did. If he could gain control of Earth, he could trade it…for Kona's return.

That had been his plan from the start…till he'd seen those men attacking her, and realized humans needed to be controlled, they needed to be ordered around and they needed to be ruled over. If left to their own devices destruction was the only thing that followed, destruction and pain. He would NEVER let Kona feel that pain and that fear again. It was even more imperative that he get her off of Earth as soon as possible.

Thor glared at him, "So be it," he determined, readying to strike…

But Loki leapt at him first, the two of them fighting back and forth, Loki with his scepter, Thor with his hammer, waging an epic battle between brothers among them. Loki sent a blast of the scepter at Thor, missing him and sending one of the letters of Stark Tower falling to the ground, creating more destruction. He would NOT let this happen, he would NOT let Thor win, he refused to let the man harm Kona again.

~8~

Steve looked back over his shoulder, frowning when he saw Kona gripping the chair, FAR too tense than was probably good, her eyes eyes clenched tightly shut, panting, seeming near a panic attack, "Are you alright?" he made his way over to her.

"I can't see, I'm being held against my will, and I'm in a plane, miles above the ground, and I have NO idea what's going on around me…" she swallowed hard, "I'm _wonderful_."

Steve eyed her, knowing that it was a defensive line. He…actually hadn't thought about what this would mean for her. They hadn't even stopped to consider that the girl might have some sort of fear of flying or heights or…anything. They'd just grabbed her and dragged her off. He was starting to…feel guilty about it. He…he honestly didn't blame her for insisting Loki was innocent in all this.

She was clearly a woman in love and love made fools of us all didn't it? He knew what it was like to have someone have that much faith in you, even when you didn't know if you deserved it or what you'd done to deserve it. He knew how important it was for that faith to continue for the other person and…he could understand her denying all that Loki had done (and admitted to doing). Who would want to believe that the person they loved was an evil, soulless, monster?

"Stark!" Natasha called as the jet turned and flew away from the Tesseract, needed to get back to Tony, having seen him dart off to stop some of the army, It wouldn't matter if they closed the portal or not with all the beasts that had already gotten through. And Army was not an entire civilization, it was small, and sure, they might be powerful enough to take over the world (or so they thought, but they'd prove the aliens wrong) but they weren't infinite. They needed to make sure that all those people down there weren't going to suffer or be harmed.

The Tesseract could wait.

"We're heading north-east," she reported to Tony.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru?!" the man shouted back, "Swing that park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

"Oh no, please don't!" Kona pleaded as the craft turned hard once more, flying after Iron Man, Kona wincing at the sudden move.

Barton glanced back as he and Natasha piloted the jet, before he pulled a lever and a cannon gun began to fire on the Chitauri troops before them, making Kona flinch and put her hands on her ears.

Steve looked at her, at the pained expression on her face and realized something else they'd forgotten, Kona's other senses, because of her loss of sight, were stronger than most. The ringing and the blasting they heard was probably twice as loud and three times as jarring for her to be unable to see it. He moved to her side and put his own hands over hers, helping to block out the noise…which may not have been a good thing as the jet was fired upon as well, one of the blasts jolting them as the wing was struck and destroyed…

"Nat!" Barton shouted as they struggled to gain control of the jet as it went down.

"I see 'em!" Natasha cried, turning the gun on a few more Chitauri as they sent more beams and blasts at them.

~8~

Loki looked up as he threw Thor to the ground, seeing the jet and he knew…Kona was on board. He felt his hands curl into fists at the thought, felt his jaw tense at the notion, Kona was _blind_! And they put her on a plane in the middle of a battle!? He aimed the scepter carefully, not willing to risk damaging the jet too much…and fired at a single one of the rotor blades. It caught fire and, as he watched the jet start to fall to the ground (slowly enough where he knew Agent Barton would be able to steer it to a semi-gentle landing, on the ground, with no way to take off again), Thor attacked, using his distraction to his advantage.

Loki let out a breath as he was tackled to the side before punching his one-time brother, the fight resuming.

~8~

"Hang on!" Barton shouted back to Steve as the man tried to brace Kona for impact, feeling the girl shaking in his arms as the entire situation overwhelmed her.

The jet grazed into the buildings around them before coming to a crashing (though far less jarring than they were all expecting) halt in the streets. Natasha and Barton exchanged a look before pulling their headsets off and unstrapping themselves. They turned and got up, Barton moving to help Kona up.

"Please…" Kona swallowed, trembling, "Please tell me we aren't doing that again."

"We're not," Barton reassured her as Steve hit a button, sending the ramp of the jet down for them to all step off. Barton held his arm back, making sure to keep Kona close but protected as they reached the streets below.

"We gotta get back up there though," Steve, no, Captain America, remarked as he stared up at Stark Tower. They ran across the street, just reaching an overpass…when a large, armored, alien ship appeared above them, coming through the portal, a warship if ever there was one, carrying with it even more warriors than before, all of them jumping down on the buildings, attacking not just the structures, but the people as well.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" the Captain called into his communicator.

"Seeing," Iron Man agreed, "Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?"

"Just keep me posted."

Barton looked around at the massive amount of aliens, more and more still coming, and stepped closer to Kona, keeping her near…

~8~

Thor held Loki down and forced him to look down at the chaos erupting below them, "Look at this!" he spat at his brother, "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"

Loki glared at him, shoving him back at the mention of madness, "It's too late," he warned, "It's too late to stop it."

"No," Thor grabbed his arm, "We can, together."

Loki paused, looking at Thor.

'Listen to him Loki,' Kona's voice begged him, 'Please, listen. Be a better man than he was and LISTEN to him.'

Loki's lips pursed at that, at the reminder of how Thor _hadn't _listened, at what had happened as a result, at what had become of Kona because of it…and then he reached out and stabbed Thor in the side, "Sentiment!" he sneered at his so-called brother, shoving him back.

But Thor got quickly to his feet, only momentarily stunned, before he grabbed Loki and threw him away.

Loki grunted as he hit the side of the floor, looking over the edge once more at the streets below…when he stiffened, spotting a flash of gold even from that height, golden hair he'd recognize anywhere.

"Kona," he breathed, spotting her in the middle of the battle…held back by his enemies. He glared and leapt off the side of the building, landing on a passing Chitauri craft as Thor looked down.

~8~

Natasha crouched beside a taxi, glaring at Kona as Barton kept hold of her hand, keeping her down as they hid from the Chitauri till the Captain ran back over, "We've got civilians trapped," Barton began…ducking down when Loki flew past them.

"Loki," the Captain glared.

"Where?" Kona shook her head, she hadn't been able to hear anything over the shouting and the explosions going off.

"Nowhere you're going," Natasha muttered, "We need to get her out of here," she told Barton.

"Nat, I CAN'T," Barton insisted, he'd tried to let Kona go but…he'd ended up taking her hand instead.

"She's a sitting duck," Natasha argued, "She refused to help us. She won't fight. She can't even see!"

"That doesn't mean I can't still help!" Kona cut in, not liking the idea of civilians, of children, being in danger, "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm useless."

Natasha scoffed at that.

"Your 7 o'clock," Kona added, "20 feet away."

Natasha frowned but stood and looking in her 7 o'clock direction, quickly whipping out her guns and firing at three Chitauri that were trying to sneak up on them, staring at them stunned. SHE hadn't even heard them coming.

"Right, Kona stays," the Captain determined, before he pointed at them, "If you think you can hold them off…"

"Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure," Barton remarked, grabbing an arrow and turning to shoot another one in the head, the arrow separating into pieces and firing through it, killing even more Chitauri aliens around it.

The Captain nodded and turned to run off, needing to help get the city secure as the two fought, Kona trying her best to guide them to where she could hear aliens approaching that they couldn't see.

"Do you hear that?" Kona put a hand on Barton's shoulder.

"What?" he glanced at her.

"I…children," she looked in his direction, alarmed, "They're trapped!"

Barton nodded, "Lead the way," he took her hand and she pulled him off, Natasha following them, firing at the aliens that popped up before them till they turned a corner to see a group of people trapped in a bus. The two agents ran over, Kona with them, Barton wedging the side doors open as Natasha turned and had his back, firing at the Chitauri that were trying to stop them.

"Come on," Kona helped a small boy as he stumbled, running over to him, only for the boy to scream…a Chitauri rushing for them before the agents could turn.

Kona ducked down, covering the small boy, tensing as she waited to either be attacked or for the alien to be struck by the agents…only for neither to happen. She looked up in the direction of the alien, feeling it there, able to feel it breathing on her as it just…stood there, before turning to run off and start firing on a building instead.

"What…" Kona breathed, completely confused, when she felt someone grab her arm and help her up, the young boy pulled off by someone else.

"Guess I wasn't the only one Loki ordered not to hurt you," Barton muttered in her ear.

She turned her head towards him, stunned, not just about the entire situation, but…apparently the aliens, or creatures, or monsters, or whatever they were, were forbidden to hurt her…

"That could come in handy," Natasha called, firing on more Chitauri as they closed in on them.

Barton shook his head at that, not about to let it reach that point where it would be needed, as he pulled Kona back towards the bus, stationing her behind him as he pulled out more arrows, him and Natasha firing away at the enemies surrounding them.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha shouted.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently!" he countered.

Kona panted as she stood braced against the bus, trying to listen to what was happening but it was too much, there was too much noise. There were blasts and shouts and grunts and screams, firing, thumping, slamming, groaning, it was everywhere. She could hear Natasha and Barton fighting, she could hear them getting the upper hand but also being injured as well. She didn't know what to do, run in there even if she was safe might distract them, stay behind and they could be hurt!

She looked to the side, hearing a new noise, the sound of a shield hitting something and knew that the Captain had returned…and then she heard another noise that made her freeze…the sound of lightning as something landed before her.

"What's the story upstairs?" the Captain asked, not seeming to notice Kona stiffening behind him at Thor's appearance.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor replied.

"Thor is right," Iron Man agreed, "We gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" Natasha looked at them.

"As a team," the Captain nodded.

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor argued.

"Oh yeah!" Barton scoffed, "Get in line."

"Save it," the Captain cut in, "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to…"

"There's someone else," Kona called softly, reminding them all that she was there, but…their attention was pulled away when a motorbike got nearer, Bruce Banner getting off it.

"So, this all seems horrible," the man remarked.

"I've seen worse," Natasha gave him a look.

"Sorry."

"No, we could…use a little worse."

"Stark, we got him," the Captain called to Iron Man.

"Banner?" Iron Man asked.

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

They looked up to see an alien warship heading for them.

"Why do I get the feeling it's not a party," Kona murmured, starting to shake again, this was one of the few times she was regretting and thankful for being blind. She couldn't see what was coming, she had no idea how bad it might be…but that was just it, she had no idea.

"Dr. Banner," the Captain called as Banner started to walk towards the large ship, "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

Banner turned to smile at them, "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."

Kona felt Barton take her arm and tug her behind him, her frowning as she heard a grunting and a straining, the sound of ripping…before something let out an inhuman roar that made her stumble back…

A/N: And so the battle begins... }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Loki will hesitate a bit yup ;)

The Chitauri might be involved, we'll have to wait and see though }:)


	9. A Battle Won

A Battle Won

Loki stood above the street, looking down at the so-called Avengers as they gathered, his jaw tensing when he saw Kona wince as she heard the Hulk roar before a deafening smash resounded as one of the Chitauri weapons was torn apart by his brute strength. His hands curled into fists when he saw her flinch as someone took her arm, as Agent Barton took her arm and tugged her over to the others. He could see it, from his height, that she was terrified. He had watched her before, seen her trying to help the children and other humans flee the bus that had been knocked out of commission, he didn't fault her for helping in that instant, it didn't mean she was on the Avengers' side, it didn't mean she was their ally, it didn't mean she had turned against him.

All she saw was children in danger and that she wanted to help. She had always been like that, it was been one of the reasons why they'd tried to postpone Thor's coronation, she'd seen him butchering Frost Giants, adults and children alike, and it had horrified her. To her, all children were innocent and he knew, he expected her to really, she would go and help those children even if it meant helping the Avengers in the process.

But he could see it now, she was scared, she was afraid and trapped in the middle of a battle with aliens attacking on all sides. SHE was safe yes, but she was only safe from the Chitauri. He knew, as well as she did, that it would only be a matter of time before one of them thought to try and use her as a shield to get somewhere, to use her as a method of defense. He had to trust that Agent Barton's resolve would hold despite the battle raging around him, that he would continue to protect Kona with his life as had been commanded of him.

He watched as they converged together, the Hulk roaring, Barton readying an arrow while the Black Widow loaded her guns. Thor was there, lifting Mjolnir and he could see that even in the chaos, Kona was shying away from Thor's direction, as Captain America stood ready, Iron Man hovering above them. But Kona…his gaze was on her, he could see her trembling from even there, how she was holding herself, how she was panting…she was utterly out of her mind with terror.

And that would NOT do at all.

He wanted her safe, and protected, and out of harm's way.

"Send the rest," he gave the command to a Chitauri solder beside him, "Get her back. Bring her to me."

He knew he couldn't risk going down there by himself as much as he wanted to, the others would all focus on him, on attacking him and he didn't want her to get hurt. If he sent more soldiers, it could lure each of them away separately, make space for Kona to be freed.

He closed his eyes, praying that she would be ok.

~8~

The Avengers looked up, seeing more warships and large aliens and warriors flying through the portal, Kona closing her eyes and trying to focus, it wasn't like she could see them, and given how silent the others had gone she could only guess what was going on.

"Guys?" Natasha breathed.

"Call it, Captain," Iron Man turned to him.

"Alright, listen up," the Captain nodded, spinning to face them, "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything," he paused a moment, "Take Kona with you," he added, seeing the man about to argue for that, "Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

Barton nodded and looked at Iron Man, "Wanna give us a lift?"

"Right," Iron Man walked over, taking Kona's arms and moving them around Barton's neck, "Hold on, and don't let go," he warned her before he grabbed Barton's arm, the man moving his other arm around her waist, and took off, bringing them up to the top of a building before he flew off himself.

"You alright?" Barton asked as he let go of Kona, the girl stumbling back till she hit a small railing around the edge of the building, sliding down one of the poles to curl her knees to her chest.

"I…really hate this," she breathed, wrapping hear arms around her stomach as she shook, before letting out a small scream when she heard smashing below her as the Hulk was set on the loose.

"Just…stay down," Barton told her, glancing over to see her moving to cover her face in with her hands. He swallowed hard and glanced down at the street before rushing over to her, kneeling before her, "Kona, Kona look up," he reached out to take her hands off her face, "You were right," he told her, "I…am CHOOSING to protect you now," he admitted, something about…all of it just not sitting right with him.

He wasn't sure if it was a lingering effect of the Tesseract, like…a small doubt, a small sliver of loyalty that still belonged to Loki, or…something else but…everything happening just felt so wrong to him. No…he knew what it was, it had nothing to do with the Tesseract or with what Loki had done to him, it was all…Kona.

"And I am choosing to believe you," he added, "That something is wrong about all this."

Kona let out a breath, "You...believe me?"

He nodded even though she couldn't see, "I believe that you see something we don't. And I believe that you know that psychotic bastard better than any of us. If you say it's not him...then I'll second you."

It was her adamant belief in Loki, her insistence that something was wrong, her true and deep faith that what was going on wasn't all there was to it…that had done him in. He had had a similar notion about Natasha once, that there was something more to her than met the eye, there was something more going on with her and if there had been just one person to vouch for her, to be there for her...that she'd be different. And she was. He had been right, there was more at play with her than people realized.

It was the same with Kona and Loki but...more powerful. He'd never seen someone that vehement about something like this before, he had never seen anyone else have such unshakable faith in another. Loki himself had openly admitted to her that he HAD attacked and killed people and Kona took it in stride and refused to accept it. It wasn't denial, he could recognize that, it wasn't the denial that someone you loved had done something bad, it wasn't a refusal to accept the facts. It was more…like she KNEW something that completely changed the game but didn't know what it was.

If she could truly and honestly believe that there was something else going on…this girl who had NEVER fallen under the Tesseract's power, then there HAD to be something else he was missing.

He…he could concede to one point that she had made, she knew Loki better than Thor did. She knew him better than anyone. And if SHE said something was wrong with him…then…he would trust her, and he would believe that something was wrong too. A girl like Kona, the brief times he'd met her, the sense he'd gotten off her (which was near perfect given his profession and the calls he had to make about other people off a glance) she was...a genuine person, she was regal and compassionate and...a girl like her wouldn't ever be with a man like the monster they all thought Loki was. She wasn't obsessive, she wasn't irrational, she was sensible, she wouldn't keep denying that it was Loki's fault if it really was his fault. She would admit it and she would try to stop it. She wouldn't make excuses for someone else. So for her to be so dead set on claiming something was wrong with Loki...he would believe it.

"And I promise you," he added, squeezing her hands, "I won't let anything hurt you, and…I'll do my best to keep them from harming Loki too."

She let out a breath, "You will?"

He swallowed, "If I have a clear shot to stop him…I'll be forced to take it," he warned her, it was his duty as an Agent of SHIELD to stop attacks and Loki WAS attacking Earth, "But…I'll only take it if I have to."

Kona nodded, knowing that was as good as she could ever hope to get coming from someone under Fury's thumb, "Thank you."

Barton nodded and turned, moving to the corner of the building and readying his bow, waiting and watching, taking his shot at every single Chitauri that came near, relentlessly attacking them.

"Stark," he called into his communicator, reporting what he could see, which was quite a lot, he'd always been better at looking at things from a distance, "You gotta lot of strays on your tail!"

"Just tryin' to keep them off the streets!" Iron Man called back as a line of Chitauri trailed after him.

"Well they can't bank worth a damn," he muttered, preparing another arrow and letting it loose, missing the craft that flew past him.

"Behind you!" Kona shouted.

He spun around and fired another arrow, striking a craft this time, making it explode and fall to the ground.

"I will roger that!" Iron Man shouted over the controls, as Barton turned, watching him fly by as he quickly fired more arrows at the crafts, managing to blow them up as well, watching as Iron Man made a series of turns and dives between buildings, taking out the remaining crafts that had been after him, "Nice call. What else you got?"

Barton looked around, "Well, Thor's taking out a squadron down on 6th…" he glanced back, hearing Kona shifting, understanding she still wasn't comfortable with the idea of Thor, and from what he'd gathered off of Loki…she had every right to be wary of the man.

_"_And he didn't invite me!" was all Iron Man replied before he took off towards where Thor was working.

Barton looked over the edge, watching as Iron Man flew away, squinting as he watched him join Natasha and the Captain as they fought, firing a blast off of the Cap's shield to take out a few more Chitauri warriors before he flew back the way he'd come, towards HIM up the building as one of the larger ships followed.

He quickly pulled an arrow and readied it, waiting till Iron Man had passed, before firing it into the head of the Chitauri on the beast. He was suddenly pulled down by the elbow, Kona beside him, saving him from two blasts that just barely skimmed over the top of his head. He fired another arrow, hitting the pilot of the craft and sending both it and the pilot down.

He cursed under his breath, "What is it?" Kona panted.

"The Army's moving in," he muttered, that wouldn't be good, but before he could even report that, he spotted something else down another street, "Captain, the bank on 42nd, past Madison. They cornered a lot of civilians in there."

"I'm on it," the Captain called back before he saw the man take off towards the street.

"Hawkeye!"

Barton winced as a piercing shout came through the earpiece he was wearing. He looked over to see Natasha had somehow made it onto a Chitauri craft and was managing to use one of the aliens to pilot it, but that she was being chased by Loki in another craft, "Nat, what are you doing?!"

"Uh, a little help!"

"I got it."

Kona frowned, hearing almost a…reluctance in his voice, "What's going on?"

Barton swallowed, "I'm sorry Kona," he murmured, "But…that shot I mentioned…"

Kona's eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen, Loki was about to be shot at, "NO!" she screamed reaching out and shoving Barton to the side just as he fired his arrow, tackling him to the ground.

Barton grunted as he hit the floor, looking over to see that the arrow had missed Loki entirely…but had embedded itself in the side of his craft. He saw the man glare at him before he quickly turned, rolling Kona away and covering her just as the arrow exploded, sending Loki falling off the ship…and crashing onto the balcony platform of Stark Tower.

"Loki!" Kona shouted after him, trying to scramble up, hearing the explosion, hearing Loki's yells, but Barton held her back, restraining her, literally locking his arms around her and pulling her, kicking and screaming, in the other direction.

~8~

Loki grunted as he hit the platform of Stark Tower, rolling onto his side, before he looked up at the building that Kona and Barton had been on. He closed his eyes for only a moment, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face. He'd lost track of her in the middle of the battle, but he was so relieved to find that Barton still held true to the order, that he was protecting Kona even now. What's more…he felt his heart warm to know that Kona…she'd saved him.

He'd seen it too late as he had passed in the Chitauri craft, he'd seen Barton aiming his arrow right at his head, but just before he'd fired, Kona had pushed him to the side. He was quite sure he would have been able to catch the arrow, that he would have been just fine, but…given that the arrow exploded, it was lucky for him that it had hit the side of his craft and not exploded in his grip. He had Kona to thank for that, she had protected him. It mean everything to know that, with the entire battle going on, with the aliens invading, with her knowing that….that he'd had a hand in making this happen…that she'd still wanted to save him, that she had still wanted to see him safe.

He was almost…confused though, by how steady she was in her faith in him. He couldn't quite understand (even though he was grateful for it) that she would still side with him and still protect him and still believe in him despite knowing all she did of what he'd done. He'd invaded Earth, he'd attacked, he'd killed, he'd…

He jerked forward a bit, feeling almost…ill as he thought of that, his stomach twisting, his head pounding as images filled his mind of all that he'd done, of all the…horrible, truly _terrible _things that he'd done to the humans.

He winced, when a flash of pain struck his head, a pain so similar to the Chitauri that he forced himself to take a breath, forced himself to calm, to think about the plan the Chitauri had given him. It was the plan that mattered, everything he'd done had been to see to his end of the bargain. The Chitauri had been given complete access to this Realm, they would be given the Tesseract and Earth was well on its way to being conquered, he would soon have all the leverage he needed to force Thor's hand, to force the man to take Kona back, to restore her memories and to LISTEN to them. To realize that he _hadn't l_et the Frost Giants into Asgard or plotted to kill Odin or that he wanted the throne and…

"Ah," he let out a grunt, hunching forward, his hand clenching into a fist, no…that…that was _wrong_, wasn't it? That wasn't what happened. He HAD let the Frost Giants into Asgard for the sole purpose of taking over, he had killed the Jotun King to assert his authority, he had destroyed Jotunheim (or attempted to) to prove his strength and resolve, and…he had been king for a short while, a position and title that was due to him by birthright…yes, THAT was what had happened…

Wasn't it?

'NO!' Kona's voice shouted in his head, 'Loki please, you know it! You _know_ in your heart that is NOT what happened at all. Please Loki. Please come back, please fight it! Fight THEM!'

He let out a breath before gripping at his hair, the pain of the Chitauri rippling through him but Kona's voice would not be silenced now. So distracted was he in trying to force the pain to subside and the voice to quiet, that he didn't even realize the Hulk had landed on the platform before him until he found himself hauled off his feet and thrown through the window and into the penthouse.

It was enough of a jolt to stop both as it seemed, and he rolled to his feet, "ENOUGH!" he roared, "You are, all of you, beneath me! I AM GOD, YOU DULL CREATURE, AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY…"

He was cut off when the Hulk grabbed him by his feet and began to relentlessly, mercilessly, and ruthlessly smash him into the floor and walls and furniture, beating him down into the floor over and over and over before he just…tossed him aside and walked off.

"Puny God."

Loki let out a breath of pain, feeling the world around him going black…hearing Kona's voice whispering in his ear as his eyes fell closed…

~8~

Kona struggled in Barton's grip, despite the battle going on, she could hear it, she could hear the Hulk roaring and she could hear where he landed, the same place as Loki, "Let me go!" she shouted, twisting and turning in Barton's grip, but the man refused to let her loose, "Let me go!"

"Kona stop it!" he grunted as she half-elbowed him in the gut.

"No!" she tried to pry his fingers off her, "You said you'd stop them! You said you wouldn't let them hurt him!"

"And I won't!" he hissed as she pulled his pinky back, forcing him to let her go, but he grabbed her arm as she turned to run, twisting her back to him and taking her other wrist in his other hand, "Kona stop it! Listen! Stop!" he shook her a bit, getting her to stop from the volume of his shout. He looked over the side of the building, able to see Natasha on the roof of Stark Tower, making her way to the Tesseract and he knew that he needed to calm her down, "I won't let them hurt him, I promised remember. While Loki's down…he can't attack and they can't attack him."

"They'll kill him," she argued, "They won't care to ask questions or think they'll just…" her voice broke, "They'll_ kill_ him."

"They won't," he released her wrists to put his hands on her face, seeing her starting to cry, she was probably more terrified by that prospect than the battle she'd been thrown into, "Fury will want answers, ok? He'll be fine, right now…" he glanced at the tower again, only to stiffen as he saw a Chitauri craft heading for them, "He's fine, but we're not!"

He pushed her behind him, reaching into his quiver for an arrow…but it was empty, "Get back!" he nudged her away as a few Chitauri soldiers jumped down onto the roof and began attacking. He managed to fight them off with his bow instead, spinning around to see one had snuck up on Kona. He was about to shout to her to watch out, knowing that the alien wouldn't harm her, but it could capture her…

When Kona reached out as it leapt at her, grabbing its arm and throwing it over her shoulder…accidently (or possibly purposefully) throwing it off the roof in the process, panting.

He looked over and grabbed an arrow out of a fallen Chitauri soldier, putting it in his quiver and change the head of it before he pulled it back out. He rushed over to her, putting her arms around him from behind, "You hold on, ok?" he ordered, seeing a ship firing at them. He turned and leapt off the building with Kona clinging to his neck…firing his last arrow up as the building exploded, the head opening up into a grappling hook that attached to the side of the building, allowing them to swing through the air and crash through a window in the side of the building.

Kona let go as they hit the floor, the two of them rolling around but, while he grunted and tried to stand…he let out a breath seeing Kona had just kept rolling…right to her knees before she ran across the room, using her hands to feel for any desks or other objects till she reached a door.

"Kona!" he shouted, knowing she was now on a warpath to get to Loki, not trusting the others to not hurt him while he was down, which…he could actually understand as Natasha HAD been about to attack her when her back was turned, "Kona wait!" he ran after her.

She was very spry and quick for a blind girl.

"I can close it!" he heard Natasha shouting in his earpiece, "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!"

"Do it!" the Captain ordered.

"No wait!" Iron Man cut in, just as he and Kona reached the stairwell, the girl already bolting down it as he chased her.

"Stark, these things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute!" Iron Man countered.

He grabbed Kona's hand just as they reached the bottom, running out into the middle of the street and looking up, seeing Ironman flying past with a large missile in his hands.

"And I know just where to put it."

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip!" the Captain shouted when they saw him heading for the portal where the Chitauri were still coming out.

"Damn…" Barton breathed as he saw Iron Man fly right into the portal…when he realized Kona had taken off again, running for the base of Stark Towers, "Kona!" he gave chase, trying to keep his eye on the sky as he followed her, listening to the others shouting when Tony became unresponsive.

The entire window of the stairwell he and Kona were running up shattered as a blast went out within the portal, the ship and the aliens falling from the sky like flies, which he knew had to mean the mother ship was destroyed.

"Close it!" he heard the Captain order as he picked himself back to his feet, Kona struggling to make it up the stairs, the building shaking and he knew it had to be Natasha closing the portal.

"Bout time," he muttered.

"Son of a gun!" he heard the Captain call. He paused at a window, looking out to see Iron Man falling from the sky, and then the Hulk jump up and catching him, crashing into buildings and the grown as he landed, Thor and the Captain surrounding him.

"Loki!" he heard Kona gasp, before he ran up the last flight of stairs and into the penthouse…seeing Kona moving to kneel by Loki's side, "Loki?" she reached out gently, searching for his face and his hand resting on his chest, "Wake up…" she whispered, trying to rouse him…

He looked up when he heard a few crashes, spotting the other Avengers landing on the platform outside, Natasha, the Captain, the Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man, all of them there, all of them walking towards him and Kona, all of them looking ready to kill.

"Guys…" he moved to stand in front of her, "I need you to trust me," he began.

Captain America shook his head at how the man was trying to stop them from extracting Loki while he was still incapacitated, "Fury was right, you ARE still compromised."

"No," he shook his head, "I just think…what if Kona has a point?"

"A point about what?" Natasha scoffed, the scepter she'd used to stop the Tesseract in her hand.

"She's been saying from the start this is wrong, that something about all of this is wrong and…"

"Loki," Kona cut in and they looked over to see that he wasn't awake but that she was correcting them, "There's something wrong with _him_."

"Yeah, he's a few fries short of a Happy Meal," Iron Man remarked, "THAT's what's wrong."

"No," Kona shook her head, getting up and walking over to them, not even needing to see them to know they were all tensing, she could hear it in their uniforms, in their weapons, how they were shifting and tightening, "No that's not what I meant."

They stiffened even more when they saw her glance at Natasha's direction, looking down in the area she was holding the scepter. Natasha took a step back, lifting the scepter to keep it closer, NOT about to let the person who could very well be Loki's accomplice anywhere near it.

"Please," Kona held out her hand, "Give me the scepter."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," the Captain shook his head.

Kona swallowed, "Thor," she attempted, a last ditch effort, "Please," she breathed, tilting her head towards him, "I need the scepter."

"To do what?" Thor demanded, distrust in his voice.

"To show you all the truth."

That was probably the WORST thing she could have said. They had video surveillance of when Loki had taken Selvig and Barton under his control, the words he'd used, how he talked about truth. Natasha especially tensed at that, Barton having told her how the Tesseract had shown him and Selvig 'the truth.' That was NOT something they wanted to subject themselves to.

"Please!" she begged, "Please you don't understand what is happening…"

"Oh I think we do," the Captain cut in, before shaking his head sadly, "Agent Barton, I'm afraid I have to take you into custody, you will be monitored for any traces of the Tesseract's power until such a time as we can determine if you are completely free of its control…"

"Now wait…" Barton began, but Iron Man grabbed his arm.

"And you," the Captain turned to her, "You are to be taken into custody for obstruction of justice and…"

Before he could even finish, Kona leapt forward and grabbed the scepter. Natasha refused to let it go, struggling with the girl to try and keep her grip on it.

Kona winced, an image in her mind of…of her and Loki, of him with a spear, of her fighting with him, her grabbing the spear and twisting, throwing him over her shoulder and twisting the spear out of his hand…

She took a breath and did the same, turning and throwing Natasha over her shoulder, forcing the woman to let go of the scepter as she stumbled back, the Avengers, even Agent Barton, stiffening and raising their weapons as the scepter began to glow in her hands…

A/N: Uh oh...I wonder what will happen now...if the scepter/Tesseract shows the truth...will it affect Kona's memories? Will SHE take control of Earth? Hmm...so many possibilities }:)

I can't believe the story's over tomorrow! O.O Which means...today will be the last day to vote for a pairing name for Loki/Kona ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh there's definitely more to him pushing the voice away than just Thor ;) But we'll find out what it is tomorrow :)

I love Cap too :) As for if Hulk's actions will have an affect...we'll have to wait and see for tomorrow }:)

I think, for Kona, it was more just not wanting people hurt than actually helping them yup :) And no worries, I definitely get real life getting in the way ;)

We'll have to wait and see if Kona goes back to Asgard or not, but I can say we'll find out tomorrow if she is or if she has to hunt down Jane ;)

I don't think Barton would let Natasha do that lol :) He's definitely choosing to protect her, we saw a bit here, he's starting to realize something's wrong with the picture and only Kona seems to know what it is :)

I wanted Loki to take her away too, but I think the second he came close they'd all attack, so he needed to split them up first :)

I heard that rumor too :( I also heard, though, that they might make a Loki Spin-off movie so that might make up for it ;)


	10. Returned and Lost

Returned and Lost

Kona gasped and closed her eyes, her grip on the scepter tightening so much her knuckles turned white as she started to shake, seeing images flash through her head, the 'truth' or so the scepter would want her to believe. Thor took a step towards her, about to pull the scepter out of her hand when her eyes shot open and she stepped back, out of reach, and did something they were…quite frankly…NOT expecting.

In one swift move, Kona turned and…smashed the scepter against the floor, over and over again, before she swung it out before her, making them all jump back to avoid being hit, watching her in confusion as she shuffled back, still swinging…till the edge of the scepter struck the corner of Stark's bar. She let out a grunt and moved closer to it, swinging and bashing and smacking the end of the scepter on it.

"Break!" she cried, letting out a frustrated scream as she kept swinging, over and over, clearly starting to get weaker with each crash of it against the corner of the bar from the force she was exerting and the trauma she just endured, "Break!" she gave a strangled sort of sob and they could see tears in her eyes as she swung, "Break! Break! Break!" she hit it against the corner as hard as she could…

And they could hear a cracking noise as the gem in the end of it flickered, the crystal starting to crack.

The sound only served to spur Kona on even more as she gripped the scepter tighter and swung harder, knowing it was close, "Break! You! Stupid! Piece! Of! Shi…" she barely even finished, gasping and panting between each word, punctuating every word with a slam against the corner, when the gem shattered completely.

Kona fell to the ground, onto her knees, soundly bruising them, as a flash of light went off from the crystal, sending out the smallest of energy waves through the room as it fell apart…

And Loki gasped awake, his eyes wide, sitting up with a jolt, panting, looking frantic and…out of sorts, shaking his head and looking just…entirely horrified.

"Loki…" Kona breathed, hearing him wake, and his head snapped to the side.

"Kona!"

The Avengers watched, completely stunned, as Loki, wincing from the beating the Hulk had dealt him, scrambled out of his small, Loki-shaped crater and up a small bit of stairs, not even seeming to notice them gathered behind him as he made his way to Kona's side, the girl too exhausted and spent to move from where she'd fallen back against the bar.

"Kona," Loki gasped, kneeling before her, reaching out to touch her face, taking it in both his hands as she reached up, curling her fingers around his wrist, tears falling from her eyes now as she looked at him.

Kona's eyes shifted over Loki's face as though she could see him, her other hand coming up to trace his features, "You're back," she whispered.

He nodded, "I am," his nods turned frantic as he stroked her face, searching it for something, "Please…please tell me I did not harm you," he murmured, pleading with her.

It was a…haze, inside his head, everything, every single memory was like he was looking at a blurred image, like he was squinting at an event playing through a fog. It was…jarring to realize that nearly a year of his life was so…vague to him.

He closed his eyes, vague or not, it was coming back to him. He started to shake, as though he were feeling it all, reliving every moment of it. The Chitauri…his mind was clear now, clearer than it had been for…so long. They were the enemy, they were not and never would be his allies. They had USED him, they had played on his desperate desire to get back to Kona and manipulated him. Worse than that…they had controlled him, and…not just from the Tesseract.

No, the Tesseract was Asgardian, was of another Realm than Earth and…it didn't have quite the same affect on them as it did on humans. For humans, it took them over completely, as it had Barton, but an Asgardian, for them to be even slightly controlled by the Tesseract was something. It was like…it was like the Chitauri, through the gem in their scepter, were able to tap into its power and 'show him the truth.'

He felt bile rise in him at what that 'truth' had been.

They had altered his mind, warped his memories, blocked some, twisted others, manipulated all of them. They had twisted his memory of when he'd fallen from Asgard, made him see Thor holding his hand instead of himself grabbing Gungnir. They'd made him think that Thor had let go of him instead of him letting go of that staff. They had taken the simplest of moments, the most minute of details and made them appear different than how they had really happened. And in doing that…they had completely changed everything he'd felt. To imagine his brother actually and physically casting him out of his home had made him feel differently for his brother, had made him angry and hateful, when it had been HIS choice.

It had warped his feelings for Asgard, for humans, for Thor, for everyone except Kona really. It was like it had taken his emotions and heightened them at times, made him blindingly angry and hateful, it made him jealous and feel…raged. It had taken everything he'd done for Asgard, from the Frost Giants to saving Odin, and twisted it, made him think the 'truth' in it was that he actually HAD wanted the throne, the FARTHEST thing from his mind.

Worse yet…the Chitauri…they hadn't just used the Tesseract to do that to him, they'd…tortured him, they'd tortured him to the brink of madness and…he hated to admit it but…they'd broken him. They had actually succeeded in breaking him, and through that, they'd fractured everything inside him. They whispered in his ear while he was in pain, made him associate it with Asgard, with Thor, with failing his 'allies.' They had made him believe that THEY were his friends, made him think his family the betrayers. They had cause him such pain that…he would have believed anything if only it would stop.

He pulled Kona closer, hugging her tightly, "_Please_ tell me I did not harm you…" he begged, his voice breaking as he held her.

Kona had been his safe haven. No matter what the Chitauri did to him, the memory of her remained untainted. He had fought with all he had to keep her his, to keep her essence in his mind and heart free of their influence. He'd fought harder to keep her memory safe than he had anything else. Because, the Chitauri were right about one thing, even he could admit it, both before he'd found them and now, Kona had been the ONLY one to keep her faith in him unshaken, to trust him without a shadow of a doubt, to stand by his side and listen to him in his entirety before making decisions or judgments.

Even now, even now his beloved had vouched for him, fought for him, stayed true to him. He felt tears in his closed eyes building again at the thought. Kona, without her memories, without any idea who she was or who he was, had sat there as he had…told her the horrible things he did (he was sure he would never be able to repent killing those men and women that he had, for harming so many other, for all the destruction he'd caused) and she had known, she had just KNOWN, that it wasn't HIM. She had known from the start that that man who had attacked the Earth truly wasn't HIM, it wasn't the real him, it was the version of him that the Chitauri had created. It was the version that the Chitauri had used as a puppet to do their bidding. She had seen through it, despite her lack of sight, she had seen right through ALL of it and held firm in her belief that something was wrong.

And because of that, because of her faith in him…he was free.

He saw it, the scepter, the scepter that had once held the gem that contained the properties of the Tesseract. The second he had taken up that scepter…he had sealed his fate. The moment he accepted it…the Chitauri had won, they'd had control of him, they'd had him on their side. He hadn't been able to see what he was doing, the Tesseract's control and the Chitauri torture had done a number on him. His mind refused to accept anything that told him the Chitauri were the enemy, that everything he knew and remembered was wrong. In his mind, they were his allies, why would they betray him? They were both obtaining mutual benefits and he owed his life and his strength to the Chitauri…their torture had worked, he'd broken and they had put him back together in the model they wanted.

Oh he had raged in his head, HE had raged. HE had fought, HIM, the REAL him, the one that had hidden away with the memory of Kona in his mind, the him that had sought protection and comfort and relief in her memory. He'd escaped to the recesses of his mind, had been forced to watch everything happen as though he were seeing someone else, someone who looked like him doing it, and been helpless to stop it. He'd shouted, he'd screamed, done what he could to try and get through to himself. He could remember a vague voice in his head that had sounded like Kona, because that was the only voice he knew he had a chance of listening to.

But it hadn't worked, because the other him, the one the Chitauri controlled, had believed it a trick of Thor's, he had so deeply felt himself indebted to the Chitauri. And now…now the scepter and its connection to the Tesseract, truly the thing binding him to their will, making him believe all the lies they'd told him in the haze of his pains, had been destroyed. And he could see all that he'd done.

But the one thing he NEEDED to know…Kona…the one person who had ever been there for him, if he had harmed her…if he had harmed even a single hair on her head…

"No," Kona whispered, hugging him just as tightly, "You protected me," she told him, taking a deep breath as she held him tighter, her eyes falling closed as she turned and buried her face into the crook of his neck, "You made sure I was protected."

He let out a breath at that, nodding, though he felt himself shaking worse, imagining all the devastation he had brought to Earth that she had had to be protected from. It was his fault, his entire fault. He had been so weak and distracted in his exile that he hadn't been able to fight the Chitauri off, he hadn't been strong enough to withstand their torture, he hadn't been quick enough to escape, he hadn't been clever enough to see though their lies…he had fallen into darkness and now…now he was paying the price for it.

He hurt. Everywhere. Ever part of him hurt. His head throbbed from being released from the Chitauri's commands, from being released from the Tesseract's control, his memories reverting back to how they should have been. His body screamed in agony, not quite as badly as it had been when the Chitauri had first started conditioning him, but it hurt terribly from the brutal beating he had endured by the Hulk. He held no ill will towards the beast though, at that point he had been screaming in his mind, begging for someone, anyone, to do something, anything, to stop him…and the Hulk had. He truly owed the green man a debt, if he hadn't stopped him when he had, how he had, it wouldn't have given Kona time to free him. His heart hurt as well, it was so…heavy, with the knowledge that HE had killed others, he had attacked them and killed them when he could have subdued them. He could have easily used magic to sneak around the people he needed to get past, but instead he had killed and had orchestrated for others to be killed. It hadn't been him, the REAL him, but the Chitauri puppet but he could still remember it…HIS hand reaching out, HIS hand stabbing and cutting and tearing down others.

He squeezed Kona tighter, needing to feel her comfort, needing to feel the reassurance that SHE didn't think him a monster. He knew she didn't, she had stood by him, had protected him even after learning all that he'd done. She STILL had faith in him. He had…heard her, he'd heard her even as he'd been lying there unable to move, unable to fully wake, he'd heard her arguing with the Avengers, standing strong against them, had heard her fight for the scepter just to free him.

"Thank the gods," he murmured, pulling way to look at her, his one hand moving to the side of her face as she reached up and held it there, leaning into it, his face still so close to hers that he could rest his forehead to her own, "How…" he swallowed, "How did you know?" he knew that her memories were still gone, he knew that she didn't really know who he was or who she was so...how had she known?

Kona sniffled as she took a breath, so…relieved she'd been right, so…thankful that her feeling about all this, that what her gut was telling her had been correct, "I just…know you," it was all she could say.

She did, she knew him better than anyone. She had seen it (well, not SEEN it but still…), all the signs the others had missed. It just wasn't right, it wasn't HIM, the way he talked, the way he held himself, the things he was doing…they weren't the Loki she felt she knew, even if she didn't remember knowing him. Everything about what they had all been saying was just SO wrong, his actions, his excuses, they way he went about things…she honestly couldn't explain it any other way but that it just WASN'T him.

She had said it so many times but only Barton had listened.

"And this…" she continued, "It wasn't you. It _couldn't_ be you."

He nodded, feeling a tear fall from his eyes as he smiled at her softly, "You are the only one who has ever truly seen me Kona."

Thor watched his brother closely at that seeing a...change in him, a true change, it was like...the man who had stood before him in the dead of night, spewing hatred against the humans and spouting his claims to the throne was just…a figment of his imagination. This man…this man who was looking at Kona like that…THAT was his brother. He felt the air leave him, as though he'd been punched in the gut by Mjolnir itself as he realized…Kona had been right. The entire time she'd been insisting that it wasn't Loki but, he hadn't listened, he…hadn't had faith in his brother.

He closed his eyes, he'd even said it himself, 'who controls the would-be king?' He'd asked Loki that, he'd KNOWN even then that something was NOT right about his brother. And the way he spoke, the way he flinched, the events he remembered and HOW he remembered them. He'd been aware the entire time that Loki had been manipulated. He just…hadn't thought it was to this extreme. What did that say for him? That he believed his brother fully capable and a willing participant in something like this, in such destruction and death. Loki had always been mischievous but this was something else entirely.

And Kona, a woman who didn't even remember who she was or who Loki was had been able to tell. She…truly knew his brother, he saw that now. He should have trusted her 'sight' as well, on Asgard often her vision led to her determining the truth of things as well, 'seeing the truth' in what people said or did...she WOULD know if the Loki the were seeing was the real him. Even without her memories, without her true abilities, she still retained a phantom sense of what she'd had, she had KNOWN the entire time. And even if she hadn't...her faith…HE should have been the one to trust Loki that much, it was his duty as the elder brother to look out for his younger brother, it was his job to watch over him and trust him and encourage him. And he'd failed. He'd failed even before this event, he…he truly was doubting everything he'd been told by Sif and the Warriors Three about what Loki had done on Asgard. He was starting to doubt what his own eyes and ears had told him when he'd returned to Asgard to find him and Kona celebrating in Odin's chambers after slaying the Jotun king.

He had seen it here, he had heard it from Loki, everything he'd done on Earth…Loki had killed people, Loki had spoken such terrible things…he had seen it and heard it, but everything he had seen and heard wasn't what was really happening. And if what he thought was true here was false…perhaps what he thought was true on Asgard was also false. But now he had quite the conundrum. As Loki what happened, he would be unable to fully believe him, Loki often lied, and he would no sooner be able to convince Odin of Loki's innocence than he could convince Sif to wear a dress when one wasn't required (he'd nearly had his throat slit the last time). No one on Asgard would believe him or Loki even if he vouched for him.

And the only other person he could ask about what happened, the only other person that the Asgardians would believe if she were ordered by the King to speak the truth…was Kona. And Kona had had her memories wiped…by his own hand. There was no way he'd be able to bring Loki back to Asgard as anything but a prisoner…and there was no way to get the truth until Kona's memories had been restored. As she was banished, she would be refused entrance to Asgard until the King lifted it, and Odin had not. And that…left him with only one option.

He would have to return Loki to Asgard, as his prisoner, until he could gather enough evidence of the man's innocence to put doubt in their father's mind. It would prove hard, Odin had become embittered against Loki for the threat he'd posed Asgard in letting the Frost Giants in when he had, how he'd manipulated everything. But he was sure he could do it, just enough doubt to get Kona's banishment lifted and her memories restored. Then he could bring her back and have the truth out, finally.

And then…perhaps…he would get his brother back.

"Do YOU see now?" Kona looked over at the Avengers, "Do you? It wasn't HIM."

Loki turned to face the men and woman that he had spent the better part of the last few days trying to destroy standing there, with various expression on their face. Some were warring with confusion, others disbelief, some shock…though Agent Barton had the smallest of smiles on his face (though he couldn't be sure if it was because he'd just proven he WASN'T compromised or if he was just relieved that Kona had been right). He looked at each one of them, seeing their glances flicker to the broken scepter and he reached over, taking it in his hand, containing his flinch when he saw them all stiffen at the move, clearly still expecting the worst.

He couldn't blame them either, he had…attacked them. They had spent so long seeing only him, the him the Chitauri had controlled, doing that, seeing the person who looked exactly like him but…WASN'T him. All they would see was that man even still. He stood, his hand in Kona's, gently helping her up as well. He eyed the team and took a step towards them, a small one, a slow one, and another, and another, till he was right before them. He looked at each of them, "If it's all the same to you," he glanced at Iron Man, "I'll have that drink now," before he held the scepter's remains out to Captain America.

The Captain looked at him, long and hard, as though trying to gauge any sort of treachery in his actions, before he slowly reached out and took the scepter from him, "This doesn't change anything," the Captain warned him.

Loki nodded, bowing his head, even as Barton stepped up, "He was being controlled the same as I was," the man argued, "You're not punishing ME."

"Because you weren't the one in charge," the Captain argued, stating what they were all thinking. The Chitauri had been across space, had needed Loki to open the portal to their world. It wasn't hard to work out that Loki had been afforded a certain amount of control, that HE had been the one in charge and making plans on how to go about getting the portal open, "He could have done this differently," he turned a hard look on Loki, before glancing at Kona, who Natasha had stepped past, "I AM sorry for this Kona."

"For what?" Kona shook her head too tired to really try and work it out…when she felt a sharp sting in the back of her head and the world went black.

The last thing she heard was Captain America ordering, "Seize him."

~8~

Loki stood, silent, manacled before Thor in Central Park, apparently where Thor had appeared when he'd been sent to Earth after him. He was solemn, silent, only really his hands restrained, something he'd allowed to happen. He knew that he would have to stand trial for all slights, he knew this was coming and he knew...he had to face his crimes. Even if he'd been controlled by the Tesseract, HE had still done the crimes, and now...it was time to face them and pray the gods would be kind to him and allow the others to realize that he hadn't WANTED to do what he had.

He looked over, watching the Avengers and Selvig gather near a car. Selvig pulled out a glass cylinder as Banner held the Tesseract out with tongs, having been warned by Loki not to touch it, and put it in the cylinder. Selvig smiled and put a cap on it, heading over to hand it to Thor, grinning as the man shook his hand goodbye. Thor turned to him and held out the cylinder to him, gesturing for him to take it.

Loki just looked at it, then Thor, "Must this always be my punishment brother?" he asked, his voice hollow and just…tired, pained, "To keep being parted from her?" he was torn as well, from being distressed to leave this way, to leave Kona, and being thankful she wouldn't have to be there to witness his shame, to hear all his crimes listed, to see how little the others would believe in him. He wanted to spare her that, to spare her the distrust of those that she had cared about.

HE didn't care if the others didn't believe him, as long as Kona believed in him. But he knew, it would hurt her (memories or no) to be around the people she had given her life (and her memories) to protect and have THEM not trust her as much as they didn't him.

Thor actually looked like he felt guilty about that, "The Tesseract can move only two," he reminded Loki, recalling what Selvig had stated about the power left in the Tesseract, how long it would take for the power to build up and it was too long for Thor to wait, "I am sorry Loki," he spoke, earnest, actually meaning it, "I will try to convince father…"

"He won't listen," Loki cut in, looking at the Tesseract again, though Thor had to smile at how he hadn't contradicted him that time about Odin, how he had called him brother again, "I will never see her again, will I?" he swallowed.

"I will do everything I can to see you reunited," Thor promised.

Loki gave a small, disbelieving smile, clearly either thinking it an empty promise or an impossible one, before he sighed, "I am sorry Kona," he whispered, taking the end of the Tesseract, knowing if they didn't leave now, Odin might send more people after him, and he couldn't risk others harming Kona.

The Avengers watched as a light emitted from the Tesseract and the gods were shot into the sky in a beam of light…

~8~

Kona awoke with a small inhale, blinking despite not seeing, as the dream she had, of Loki disappearing in a flash of light, played out in her mind, before she swallowed, feeling tears gather, and turned in her bed, she could smell she was in her apartment. She curled up, closing her eyes, realizing, once more, she had lost Loki. She shook her head, feeling tears gather and let out a quiet sob, not even her kitten able to cheer her as he jumped on he side and climbed over her to curl up by her stomach.

Why did this always happen? Why did he keep getting pulled away from her? Would she ever see him again?

She inhaled sharply at that, taking a breath before she sat up, yes…yes she would. She would make sure of it.

She didn't know how but…she WOULD see Loki again.

No…actually…she DID know how. That man, one of the agents, when she had been brought in to that ship the first time…she had heard him speaking to Thor about a woman a…she scrunched her face trying to recall it…Jane Foster. Thor had seemed very concerned about her and…if he felt for her what SHE felt for Loki (and vice versa)…then Thor would go after her, he would do everything he could to get back to her, to get her back.

Thor would come to Earth again, for Jane, and when he did…she was going to make sure she was there too.

She was NOT going to lose Loki a third time.

To be continued...in...Is It Redemption?

A/N: And there we have it, the end of the Avengers :( Poor Kona and Loki, STILL separated...but I think it was hinted...not for long ;) The next story will be up on Saturday :) I'm going to give a day between this one and that ;) But really, poor Kona, getting him back, losing him, and now she has to find an impossible (or maybe not that impossible) way back to a place she still doesn't remember :(

I hope you enjoyed the little twists here, with Loki being both manipulated and controlled. Seems Kona was right the whole time, it WASN'T Loki ;) I sort of got the feeling that he'd been tortured early in the movie, and then when he woke up at the end and asked for that drink...it just FELT different. The way he spoke and held himself and looked, his expresions just felt different than they had been. So I thought, maybe it might have something to do with the Tesseract, with it stopped, maybe its control was stopped too, and if he was THAT different, maybe he WAS being controlled as well.

But now Thor is sorry! And Thor is 99 percent sure that he was wrong to do what he did. There's still some red tape to cut through, but Thor is ready to prove Loki's innocence and get Kona back ;) I wonder how that will change Thor 2 }:)

And I can say the official pairing name for Loki/Kona is...Loka! ;)

I just want to add a big old thank you to all of you :) To anyone who read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything the story :) I'm really glad you enjoyed it and it really means a lot to me to know you liked it :) You guys are awesome!

Some notes on reviews...

Nope, the scepter didn't affect Kona too, I think it tried to but her gift of sight in Asgard allowed her to already 'see' the truth and it didn't work ;)

I hope they make a Loki movie too, I would love it if he was in all of the movies to come, but he definitely needs at least 2 more :)

Lol, I have no idea why I torture you all, just think, could be worse...I could have made you wait weeks or months to find out what happens next if I was really evil }:)

Not imprisoned just yet, but now we'll get to see a Kona who as no memory possibly going to Asgard, so I can't say if her memories will be restored or not, but I think Thor does take blame a bit here yup :)


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